Markers that indicate the presence of Parkinson's disease in patients on average seven years before clinical presentation have been identified by a UCL and Moorfields Eye Hospital research team.
This is the first time anyone has shown these findings several years before diagnosis, and these results were made possible by the largest study to date on retinal imaging in Parkinson's disease.
Eye scans and eye data have also been able to reveal a propensity to high blood pressure; cardiovascular disease including strokes; and diabetes. Lead author Dr Siegfried Wagner , who is also principal investigator of several other AlzEye studies, said: "I continue to be amazed by what we can discover through eye scans. While we are not yet ready to predict whether an individual will develop Parkinson's, we hope that this method could soon become a pre-screening tool for people at risk of disease.
Professor Alastair Denniston, consultant ophthalmologist at University Hospitals Birmingham, professor at the University of Birmingham and part of NIHR Moorfields BRC said: "This work demonstrates the potential for eye data, harnessed by the technology to pick up signs and changes too subtle for humans to see. We can now detect very early signs of Parkinson's, opening up new possibilities for treatment.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Eye scans detect signs of Parkinson's disease up to seven years before diagnosisMarkers that indicate the presence of Parkinson's disease in patients on average seven years before clinical presentation have been identified by a UCL and Moorfields Eye Hospital research team.
Read more »
UK’s first menopause education programme being launched by UCLProgramme has been inspired by courses for mothers-to-be before birth.
Read more »
UK’s first menopause education programme being launched by UCLProgramme has been inspired by courses for mothers-to-be before birth.
Read more »
Study adds to evidence that Parkinson's starts in the gutAsk any neurologist: Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder. The conspicuous symptoms of Parkinson's disease—uncontrollable tremors, slowed down motions, and the feeling that one's feet are stuck to the ground—all stem from the loss of neurons in a region of the brain that helps control movement.
Read more »
Zebrafish model could help unlock Parkinson's disease mechanismsNearly one million people in the United States are living with Parkinson's disease, making it the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's.
Read more »