current research suggests that people who develop Parkinson’s Disease are at increased risk of falling and injuring themselves in the years leading up to their diagnosisPeople who are prone to falling and injuring and injuring themselves in middle age are at significantly increased risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease decades later,according to a current study by researchers in Sweden. The findings, published earlier this month in the open access journal PLoS Medicine, or propose that frailty – and especially an increased risk of falling and fracturing one’s hip – could be a marker for degenerative brain changes,which may occur decades before disease symptoms appear, and possibly aid in early diagnosis.
Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterised by the death of dopamine-producing neurons in a region of the midbrain called the substantia nigra. This causes the three main symptoms of tremor, and muscle rigidity,and late movements, which typically appear at around 60 years of age, and progress at varying rates. Although widely considered to be a movement disorder,Parkinson’s is also associated with cognitive impairments, which in severe cases can develop into full-blown dementia.
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Source: theguardian.com