Scientists have discovered why some Parkinson’s patients experience hallucinations

A study that analyzed brain and robotic imaging in patients with Parkinson’s disease found a frontotemporal disconnect that could explain why these people think they can see ‘ghosts’.

As specified by scientists, Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Spain, in collaboration with researchers from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland and with the members of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, around half of people with this disease suffer from presence hallucinations, which makes them feel the presence of a nearby “body” shadow.

This kind of phenomena they are very difficult to study, due to their spontaneous nature.

In this new study, that youused brain imaging and robotics through smartwatches, abnormalities have been detected in the brain that could explain these types of events.

According to the teacher Olaf Blanke, of the Swiss Institute, “the system is quite simple: a robot is in front of the patient and measures his movements, while a second robot sends signals to the individual we are testing, the healthy, Parkinson’s disease patients, and then when we induce a mismatch, the robots work in coordination to analyze the condition in which is occurring. produces the “hallucination of presence”.

These types of minor hallucinations often occur before other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as tremors and muscle stiffness. In this sense, it is likely that people who hallucinate more severe exhibit greater cognitive decline as the disease progresses.

Scientists have warned that information about hallucinations is scarce because patients are often embarrassed to report them.. Joseph rey, patient who experiences visions, clarified: “They feel like angels protecting me. They don’t hurt me. They follow me everywhere. It’s heartwarming in a way, because I’m not alone“.

Although the disease has traditionally been defined as a movement disorder, some patients also suffer from mental symptoms such as psychosis, depression, cognitive decline, and even dementia.

The researchers of the study in which they participated 56 patients with Parkinson’s disease in Switzerland and Spain and was published in the scientific journal Science say a growing body of evidence suggests hallucinations may be precursors to these more serious mental health symptoms, but they often go underdiagnosed.

Parkinson’s disease surveillance

The Smart watches used in this research, as stated in the scientific article, they can capture continuous motor activity and physiological parameters and could be useful for remote monitoring of patients. Researchers have developed a smart watch-based ambulatory monitoring system to track dyskinesia and resting tremors in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

The tremor and dyskinesia detected by the smartwatch were consistent with the ratings reported by the doctor and seen during clinic visits. The smartwatch-based system could identify changes in symptoms resulting from better adherence to drugs or deep brain stimulation therapy, as well as subclinical symptoms, suggesting the need for alternative therapy or drug titration. . “This study demonstrates the potential utility of smartwatch-based remote monitoring for Parkinson’s disease”They said.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects older people and has symptoms such as laziness, stiffness, tremors, and loss of reflexes that affects one in 500 people worldwide, including some 90,000 patients in Argentina.

It causes muscle stiffness, slowed movement, tremors, sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, impaired quality of life and can lead to severe disability.

“This study demonstrates the potential utility of smartwatch-based remote monitoring for Parkinson’s disease,” the researchers said.

It is a progressive neurological disease that destroys cells in the part of the brain that controls movement. It is known that victims have a reduced supply of dopamine because the nerve cells that produce it have died. Currently there is no cure or way to stop the progression of the disease, but hundreds of scientific trials are working to change that.

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