4 unusual signs that you may be at risk for Parkinson's disease

Patrick Lewis, University of Reading and Alastair Noyce, Queen Mary University of London

Do you move a lot while you sleep? Or did you lose your sense of smell? New insights into Parkinson's disease suggest that these may be early signs of brain changes that mean you are at higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

When we talk about Parkinson's disease, we often think of an elderly person who trembles and has trouble moving. And, in the last stages of Parkinson's disease, this is often true. Bradykinesia (a medical term for slowing motion) and tremors (tremors that can be so important in Parkinson's disease) are two of the most important symptoms of the disease.

However, research conducted over the past 15 years has begun to shed light on some of the changes and symptoms that occur much earlier in the disease, sometimes well before the Parkinson's movement changes. What are these warning signs that you are at increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease? Here are four of the most common.

1. Loss of smell

People diagnosed with Parkinson's often remember that they remembered changes in their sense of smell for several years before developing tremors or other movement problems. But many people might not even recognize that their sense of smell is bad. It's only when we test that 90% of people with Parkinson's disease have lost their sense of smell.

2. Agitated nights

There is a link between changes in sleep patterns called rapid sleep behavior disorder and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. The paradoxical sleep behavior disorder, or RBD, represents more than just a restless night. People with DBC realize their dreams, sometimes moving violently in their sleep, to the extent that they can even hurt themselves, but often without remembering their actions.

RBD is rare and can only be diagnosed with a special sleep study, but most people who develop it will develop Parkinson's disease or a similar condition within a decade.

3. constipation

Problems with digestion and intestinal transit are a big problem for people with Parkinson's disease, and we now know that these problems can begin well before the tremors and movement problems that lead to a person being referred to a neurologist.

As with most of these early symptoms, people can develop constipation for a variety of reasons, but it is clear that people with Parkinson's have intestinal transit problems. In fact, constipation may be one of the earliest signs, occurring up to 20 years before the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

4. Anxiety and depression

Feeling anxious or depressed, beyond the ups and downs of everyday life, is one of the biggest problems reported by people with Parkinson's disease – sometimes considering it even more of a problem than changes in movements. We believe that this is due to changes in the balance of chemical activity in the brain and that these changes begin up to ten years before the diagnosis of Parkinson's.

It is important to remember that there are many reasons why one or more of these changes may occur. And even if you have them all, it does not mean that you will definitely develop Parkinson's disease. But there is good evidence that most people diagnosed with Parkinson's have experienced it, in whole or in part.

If you would like to join 10,000 other people involved in research to find people at risk for Parkinson's, which could ultimately lead to prevention or curative treatment, please visit the Predict PD website.

Patrick Lewis, Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, University of Reading and Alastair Noyce, Clinical Lecturer in Preventive Neurology, Queen Mary University of London

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.