Your eyes are indicator of the Parkinson’s disease, reveals study

Your eyes are definitely an indicator of a lot of your feelings, but researchers have now found that retina thinning, in two inner layers of the retina out of the five, is linked with Parkinson's disease.

By: Sudhakar Jha | | Published: August 19, 2018 1:22 pm

Tips to get rid of eye infections. © Shutterstock

Thinning of the lining of nerve cells in the back of the eye–retina–has a strong link with Parkinson’s disease, says a new study that can boost the diagnoses to detect the disease in its early stages. Also Read - Advanced MRI scans may improve treatment of Parkinson's disease, reduce risk of side effects

According to the new study, the thinning of the retina is linked to the loss of brain cells that produce dopamine, a substance that helps control movement. And movement is one of the first indicators of the Parkinson’s disease that impairs mechanical abilities. Also Read - Autoimmunity's role in Parkinson's disease: Signs can appear years before diagnosis

“Our study is the first to show a link between the thinning of the retina and a known sign of the progression of the disease – the loss of brain cells that produce dopamine,” said Dr. Jee-Young Lee, from the Seoul National University in South Korea where the research was done. Also Read - New drug shows promise for treatment of Parkinson's: Here’s how you can reduce the risk

“We also found that thinner the retina, greater the severity of the disease. These discoveries may mean that neurologists may eventually be able to use a simple eye scan to detect Parkinson’s disease in its earliest stages, before problems with movement begin,” Dr. Lee added.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, involved 49 participants who had an average age of 69 years, and were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease two years earlier, but were yet to start medication. The other group involved 54 individuals without the disease who were of the same age group.

The researchers studied each participant with a complete high-resolution eye scans as well as PET scan to find that retina thinning, most importantly in the two inner layers of the five layers of the retina, were connected to Parkinson’s disease. The researchers also found that the thinning of the retina corresponded with the loss of brain cells that produce dopamine and the severity of the disease.

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Published : August 19, 2018 1:22 pm

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