Parkinsons Disease is the second most common form of degenerative brain disease and typically afflicts people aged sixty plus. It has been found that the most common cause of it affects not only a patients movement but also their vision. Researchers have found that as well as suffering from tremors and generally having movement slowed, a percentage of patients are seeing changes in vision.
The University of York's Biology department have found a link between a mutation which trigger the disease and also sight in animal models. Scientists at York studied the impact of the most common Parkinson's-related mutation on nerve cells in the visual system of the fruit fly, Drosophila.
They report that animals carrying the mutated gene displayed a gradual loss of eye nerve functions. Other Parkinson related mutations apparantly did not effect the eyes in the same way and no reported loss of vision was made. Eye doctors will be able to manage patients needs far better with this understanding of possible vision compromise. To date, Parkisons has been largely manipulated to be ALL about the difficulties in the progressive movement problems, this study has indicated that sight change and / or vision loss may also affect people diagnosed with the most common form of inherited Parkinson's Disease.