Parkinson's Mutation Linked to Visual Problems

"The most common genetic cause of Parkinson's is not only responsible for the condition's distinctive movement problems but may also affect vision, according to new research by scientists at the University of York," reports Medical News Today. "Parkinson's, the second most common form of neurodegenerative disease, principally affects people aged over 60. Its most common symptom is tremor and slowness of movement (bradykinesia) but some people with Parkinson's also experience changes in vision.  Now for the first time, researchers in the University's Department of Biology have established a link between a mutation which triggers Parkinson's and problems with vision in an animal model." Read more.

Eye Exam Now Can Reveal Alzheimer's, Parkinson's,and Creutzfeld-Jacobs

"Sticky plaques of proteins called amyloids mark several different, though related degenerative brain diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Creutzfeld-Jacobs. The symptoms of these disorders overlap and methods to diagnose and monitor them are not very advanced," notes Science Daily. "To solve this problem, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have devised several new fluorescent probes that change color depending on what type of amyloid they encounter. Because amyloids accumulate in the eye as well as the brain, their discovery offers hope that one day neurodegenerative diseases could be differentially diagnosed with simple eye drops or ointment and an eye exam." Read more.