Researchers are increasingly identifying risk markers that could lead to early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and see early treatment applied, a conference heard yesterday.
These include loss of sense of smell, dizziness, urinary problems and possibly weakened lung function, the conference of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen, Denmark, heard.
Academy president Professor Günther Deuschl, of the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany, told delegates there were 1.2 million people with the disease in Europe, affecting about 2% of those over the age of 65.
He said: “New, neuroprotective or disease-modifying therapies against Parkinson’s could be far more effective if administered at an early stage of the disease.
"Fortunately, we are increasingly able to decipher the mechanisms by which the condition develops thanks to the latest findings and methods, which enables us to identify persons at risk of developing Parkinson’s early on."
He added: “There are still no reliable tests for early diagnosis of Parkinson’s, so doctors have had to rely on experience alone.
"But now we have developed a completely novel neurological approach that links clinical examinations and statistical calculations of probability.
“The criteria were recently published by the Movement Disorder Society. They are designed to standardise clinical research and provide diagnostic support.”
* The conference also heard a plea for standardised guidelines on the early identification and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Professor Gunhild Waldemar, Director of the Danish Dementia Research Centre, told delegates: “European science could play a leading role, providing that it adopts a concerted approach and sufficient funds are made available.
"While research is expensive, standing by helplessly is even more so."
Leave a Reply