Assays for diagnosis and therapeutics employing similarities and differences in blood serum concentrations of 3 forms of complement C3c and related protein biomarkers between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease

An assay for selecting appropriate biomarkers useful in diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD), and PD-Like disorders, comprising:

• a) collecting serum samples from patients with PD;
• b) collecting serum samples from patients with a PD-Like disorder;
• c) collecting serum samples from patients with ALS;
• d) collecting serum samples from patients with an ALS-Like disorder;
• e) collecting serum samples from patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD);
• d) collecting serum samples from patients with an AD-Like disorder;
• e) collecting serum samples from normal control individuals;
• f) performing a two-dimensional gel electrophoretic analysis of the serum sample;
• g) staining the two-dimensional gel;
• h) quantitating a protein concentration in a plurality of protein spots on the two-dimensional gel;
• and
• i) performing a statistical analysis on the quantities of the proteins in the protein spots to select a biomarker spot to distinguish between patients with PD from patients with the PD-Like disorder and from normal individuals.

An assay for diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and ALS-Like disorders, comprising:

• a) collecting a serum sample from a patient;
• b) performing a two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoretic analysis of the serum sample;
• c) staining the 2D gel pattern;
• d) quantitating a set of preselected protein spots;
• and
• e) performing a statistical analysis on the quantity of the selected spots to determine the Likelihood of the patient having ALS as opposed to an ALS-Like condition.

An assay for diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD), and PD-Like disorders, comprising:

• a) collecting a serum sample from a patient;
• b) performing a two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoretic analysis of the serum sample;
• c) staining the 2D gel pattern;
• d) quantitating a set of preselected protein spots;
• and
• e) performing a statistical analysis on the quantity of the selected spots to determine the Likelihood of the patient having PD as opposed to a PD-Like condition.

An assay for determining the burden of disease, therapeutic targets, and monitoring of response to treatment of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), comprised of:

• a) collecting a serum sample from a patient;
• b) performing a two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoretic analysis of the serum sample;
• c) staining the 2D gel pattern;
• a) quantitating a set of preselected protein spots;
• and
• b) performing a statistical analysis on the quantity of the selected spots to determine the magnitude of active inflammatory and immune-inflammatory neurodegeneration, oxidative stress, and inclusion body formation in the patient.

An assay for determining the burden of disease, therapeutic targets, and monitoring of response to treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), comprised of:

• a) collecting a serum sample from a patient;
• b) performing a two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoretic analysis of the serum sample;
• c) staining the 2D gel pattern;
• c) quantitating a set of preselected protein spots;
• and
• d) performing a statistical analysis on the quantity of the selected spots to determine the magnitude of active inflammatory and immune-inflammatory neurodegeneration, oxidative stress, and inclusion body formation in the patient.