Brain Scan Could Predict Course of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's Disease Foundation report

A special type of brain scan could allow doctors to predict the course of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in people newly diagnosed, according to a study published in the September 15 issue of the journal Movement Disorders. Identifying people at risk for severe disease might enable better management and treatment of their symptoms.

What this means:

Some people with PD develop more debilitating symptoms than others, but doctors can’t currently predict the clinical course, or prognosis, of a person’s disease at the time of diagnosis. Being able to do so may help doctors better anticipate and treat severe symptoms such as falling, cognitive impairment and psychosis. In addition, such knowledge could help doctors design more informative clinical trials. For example, in some clinical trials, it might be useful to assign study volunteers into groups of people with similar predicted disease progression.

To read more go to:  Parkinson's Disease Foundation