Novel biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases- motor neuron disease (MND), cerebellar ataxia (CA) and Parkinson's disease (PD).

Oxygen is the most mandatory component of living organism and it may at times produce highly reactive species, the free radicals, which are destructive to normal living tissues. Degenerative diseases of central nervous system (CNS) are quite common, contributing significantly to morbidity as well as mortality %. In neurodegenerative diseases such as motor neuron disease (MND), Cerebellar Ataxia (CA) and Parkinson's disease (PD), there is no direct evidence for involvement of metals and free radicals in the etiology but circumstantial evidence provides a hypothesis that alteration in metals and free radicals contribute to the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration in these disorders. The aim of the present study was to estimate free radicals cascade i.e. damage caused in terms of malondialdehyde (MDA) and defense system Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase in blood and cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) of neurodegenerative diseases (MND, CA and PD), to analyze correlation with level of free radical and the clinical variables like age, severity of diseases and duration of illness and any possibility from this clinical parameters to identify a biomarker for diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. The level of MDA in CSF was 0.46 ± 0.17 in case of MND, 0.49 ± 0.13 in case of CA and 0.47 ± 0.16 in case of PD as compared control group (0.22 ± 0.06) whereas in blood MDA level was 0.10 ± 0.04 in case of MND, 0.33 ± 0.41 in case of CA and 0.47 ± 0.46 in case of PD as compared control group (0.04 ± 0.03). It was found to be highly significant (p < .001). In CSF and blood both catalase activity was statistically significantly higher as compared to control group of all cases (MND, CA and PD) and SOD activity was statistically significantly lower as compared to control group of all cases. Free radical parameters in human CSF might be a novel biomarker for the early clinical identification of neurodegenerative diseases.