Circulating particles carotenoids are associated with rehabilitation recovery in Parkinson's disease

Circulating nanoparticles include Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) and other circulating EV-like particles that are known mediators of the trafficking of pathologic proteins associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) progression as well as of products of the oxidative damage that characterizes the disease. In the framework of the VIRTREAD-PD trial protocol, circulating particles were isolated from the serum of 30 subjects with PD before and after an intensive rehabilitation program using a treadmill. Raman spectroscopy was used to verify modifications in the biochemistry of circulating particles and proved that an intensive motor rehabilitation program could affect the molecular composition of EV-like particles in the blood of people with PD (pwPD). Analysis performed before and after 8 weeks of intensive rehabilitation demonstrate significant changes in the biomolecules associated with EV-like particles and in carotenoid content. The presence of antioxidants linked to circulating particles was proved to be informative for the profiling of pwPD at admission and prognostic of the rehabilitation recovery.

In conclusion, our data support the hypothesis that circulating particles have a dual role in PD, both in the neurodegenerative processes and in the response to rehabilitation. Besides, the Raman fingerprint and the spectral signature of carotenoids can represent measurable biomarkers of rehabilitation.