Metabolomics: Potential non-protein biomarker candidates of Parkinson's disease

Despite the growing number of patients with neurodegenerative diseases, especially Parkinson's disease, and the associated increasing pressure on global healthcare systems, there is still a lack of reliable laboratory methods that allow for the rapid and highly accurate diagnosis of these diseases at a pre-symptomatic or early stage, i.e., before irreversible pathomorphological and functional changes occur. Furthermore, current treatment strategies remain limited to the management of symptoms and fail to address the underlying causes of Parkinson's disease. This diagnostic and therapeutic gap is becoming increasingly critical. Recent advances in metabolomics, fuelled by major improvements in analytical technologies, now offer unprecedented opportunities to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. In this context, intermediates of tryptophan metabolism, along with dopamine metabolites such as aminochrome, appear to be particularly promising candidates. They include various neurotoxic, neuroprotective, and otherwise bioactive molecules, which are directly involved in regulating nervous system functions and closely interact with neural structures. Aminochrome, for instance, plays a pivotal role in inducing neurodegenerative processes, including the misfolding of α-synuclein, a hallmark of Parkinson's disease. Given the accelerating development of metabolomic platforms and the urgent clinical need for early diagnosis and novel therapeutic strategies, the exploration of metabolite-based biomarkers and targets represents a timely and highly relevant research direction.