At time 400 min, when thioflavin T signal was detectable in the patient brain homogenate but not in the controls (Fig. 2a), an aliquot of the first amplification cycle was diluted (20-fold for MSA patients and control patients, 50-fold for PD patients) in the presence of monomeric α-synuclein (100 μM in assembly buffer) and assembly was further monitored by thioflavin T binding. The gene discussed is SNCA; the disease is multiple system atrophy.