CSF levels of DJ-1 and tau distinguish MSA patients from PD patients and controls

Differential diagnosis between Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) is difficult, particularly at early disease stages, but is important for therapeutic management. The protein DJ-1 is implicated in the pathology of PD but little is known about its involvement in MSA. We aimed to determine the diagnostic value of CSF DJ-1 and tau proteins for discriminating PD and MSA. DJ-1 and total tau levels were quantified in the CSF of 43 PD patients, 23 MSA patients and 30 non-neurological controls matched for age and gender. Patients were part of a study with a 3-year prospective design with extended case-review follow-up of up to 9 years, ensuring maximum accuracy of the clinical diagnosis. Our results showed that CSF DJ-1 levels could distinguish MSA from PD with a 78% sensitivity and 78% specificity (AUC = 0.84). The combination of DJ-1 and tau proteins significantly improved this discrimination to 82% sensitivity and 81% specificity to identify MSA from PD (AUC = 0.92). Our results highlight the potential benefits of a combination of DJ-1 and total tau as biomarkers for differential diagnosis of MSA and PD.