What is Parkinson's disease?
Analysing healthcare records, the team found that certain symptoms of Parkinson’s could appear up to 10 years before diagnosis. Funded by Bart’s Charity, the scientists analysed the healthcare records of over a million people living in East London between 1990 and 2018. Looking at additional data from the UK Biobank, the researchers uncovered two “novel” risk factors for Parkinson’s.
Lead study author Dr Cristina Simonet said: “This is the first study focusing on the pre-diagnostic phase of Parkinson’s in such a diverse population with high socioeconomic deprivation but universal access to health care.”
The neurologist and PhD student at Queen Mary added: “People from minority ethnic groups and deprived areas have largely been under-represented in Parkinson’s research up till now.
“But to allow us to get a full picture of the condition we need to ensure research is inclusive and represents all those affected.”
The two “novel risk factors” identified are epilepsy and hearing loss, which have been hinted at beforehand in previous research.
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Dr Simonet explained: “Whilst previous research has hinted at the association, such as epilepsy being more prevalent in Parkinson’s patients than in the general population, more research is now needed for us to fully understand the relationship.
“In the meantime, it’s important that primary care practitioners are aware of these links.
“And understand how early the symptoms of Parkinson’s can appear, so that patients can get a timely diagnosis and doctors can act early to help manage the condition.”
As for the early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, tremor – while one of the most recognisable signs of the condition – appeared “10 years before eventual diagnosis”.
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Co-author, Dr Alastair Noyce, a reader in neurology and neuroepidemiology at Queen Mary, elaborated.
“People see their GPs with symptoms but often don’t get a diagnosis until five to 10 years after this,” he said.
“Tremor, for example, is one of the most recognisable symptoms of Parkinson’s, but was seen 10 years before eventual diagnosis in our study.”
Dr Noyce stressed: “This is too long for patients to wait. If we’re able to diagnose Parkinson’s earlier, we have a real opportunity to intervene early and offer treatments that could improve the quality of life for patients.
“This study confirms that many of the symptoms and early features of Parkinson’s can occur long before a diagnosis.”
Through their ongoing PREDICT-PD research, the researchers aim to identify at-risk individuals before obvious symptoms appear.
They hope earlier diagnosis could pave the way to slow down Parkinson’s progression or to cure the condition in the future.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, as pointed out by the NHS:
- Involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body (tremor)
- Slow movement
- Stiff and inflexible muscles.
Additional symptoms of Parkinson’s can include:
- Depression and anxiety
- Balance problems
- Loss of sense of smell
- Problems sleeping
- Memory problems.
At present, “no tests can conclusively show that you have Parkinson’s disease”.
Specialists, such as a neurologist, will assess if a person is likely to have the condition.
Queen Mary University cited Dr Simonet and Dr Noyce’s research on March 7, 2022.
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