DOCUMENT

26 Tears: Count Dracula to Parkinson’s John Dalrymple-Alford and colleaguesVanessaMorris, JoannaWilliams, TimAnderson and LynetteTippett are embarking on a nation-wide collaborative project to reveal messages hidden in plain sight in the eye’s tears. In fact, interest in looking at tears for biomarkers of various health conditions has suddenly exploded. Even Count Dracula has made an entrance. It’s been shown recently that the fearsome “Vlad the Impaler” shed tears on letters he wrote 550 years ago. Proteins on these letters revealed that he probably had a rare condition in which blood was evident in his tear drops.* Vlad didn’t have Parkinson’s, but it’s a salient example that tears provide a treasure trove of secrets. Now, a world first by this NZ research group is uncovering evidence of the misfolded hallmark of Parkinson’s, namely aggregations of the protein called alpha- synuclein. Tears holdmany other gems too. Indeed, this led John on a journey to colleagues in Qatar and Germany, and full circle to optometrist-scientist Associate Professor Stuti Misra in Auckland. The tears are the “tip of the iceberg”, says John. “We want to progress the idea that the surface of the eye may eventually tell us about not only diagnosis and progression, but perhaps even the earliest of treatment interventions. Multiple pieces of evidence reveal the same story: the eyes have it.” The team’s current Neurological Foundation project is comparing tears in people with Parkinson’s with those with Alzheimer’s disease. These are two separate conditions, but across individuals there can be both separate and overlapping changes in key molecular signatures. Just as the brain might reveal one or both types of change, so too will the tears and surface of the eye. John, Tim and Vanessa