Eye Test May Reveal Parkinson’s Disease Earlier

Eye Test May Reveal Parkinson’s Disease Earlier

Parkinson's disease is usually discovered too late in patients for effective treatment. But now there's a new eye test that could diagnose the devastating¹ condition much earlier. The degenerative condition causes muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, and tremors². Although there is no cure for Parkinson’s, if the disease can be caught at its beginning stages, medications and other therapy could help control the symptoms.

The new eye test may be a breakthrough for spotting Parkinson’s disease early. Most people may not know they have it for many years because the disease is gradual, causing nerve cell damage in the brain that affects the central nervous system.

And right now, there is no one test or brain scan that can diagnose the condition.

Using a new imaging technique, the new eye test looks for changes in people’s retinas. It was developed by researchers at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology.

First, scientists injected rats with a chemical that causes Parkinson’s. Once they saw the changes in the retina, they treated the rats with an anti-diabetic drug, that helps protect nerve cells, and which, according to ophthalmologist Dr. Eduardo Normando, could potentially be used to treat the disease.

“By injecting the Rosiglitazone in these rats we were able to see a rescue effect of Rosiglitazone in this model, first in the eye and then in the brain,” said Normando.

It’s not known why people get Parkinson’s, which is estimated to affect one in every 500 people like the late boxer³ Muhammad Ali. Testing for Parkinson’s in the retina first could have far-reaching implications, said Dr. Francesa Cordeiro, an ophthalmologist.

“It could predict that, that person needs a second tier of investigations⁴ which will decide whether they have Parkinson’s or not, and then you could carry on using this test to monitor, not only how fast they are progressing, but actually, if they are on the correct treatment and that’s huge,” said Cordeiro.

Human trials for the Parkinson’s eye test are to begin soon.

“If you've seen the effects in the retina well before you see those effects in the brain, then actually you could shorten the length of clinical trials, and you could use this as a very good marker of treatment success. But in the long run, what we think is that it could be a way of trying to see if patients are ever going to get Parkinson's disease," said Cordeiro.

And that could lead to better treatment for the debilitating⁵ disease in the future -- with testing possibly being done during a regular eye check-up.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

3 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

4 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

5 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。