This part of the body could reveal Parkinson's, a simple test can detect the disease
In France, approximately 27,000 new cases of Parkinson's are detected each year. This neurodegenerative disease manifests itself in particular through motor symptoms such as tremors and slowness of movement, which allow for diagnosis. But these "first worrying symptoms only appear when 60 to 80% of dopaminergic neurons have already disappeared. Many warning signs can appear 10 to 20 years before diagnosis," reminds France Parkinson.
Today, one of the major challenges in research on this disease is to detect it as early as possible, well before the motor symptoms appear. Several avenues are currently being explored. Among them, there is detection... using the eyes. You may have already seen or had a neurological exam where the doctor asks you to follow a light or your finger with your eyes.
"The retina is a direct extension of the central nervous system and, consequently, it offers a non-invasive way to explore the brain. An unusual response of the retina to light stimuli could be indicative of a pathology affecting the brain," such as Parkinson's disease, explained Professor Martin Lévesque , who led a study on the subject.
He and his team recruited people who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The researchers conducted retinal scans and compared these results with those of healthy people. They observed that " the retinas of people with Parkinson's disease" responded "differently to light stimuli than those of healthy people," they report.
This study is far from the only one to explore this promising avenue. "Eye movement analysis has fascinated scientists for over a century, with tens of thousands of papers analyzing how the central nervous system controls eye movements and how neurological disease affects their normal behavior," according to the company Neuroclues , which is developing an eye movement analysis device to detect diseases like Parkinson's.
Other advanced avenues of research are underway, including diagnostic blood tests. Detecting the disease early would allow for earlier treatment. Although Parkinson's disease is currently incurable, therapeutic solutions exist to limit symptoms and their progression.
L'Internaute
