The Link Between Diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic disorder in which a part of the brain gets damaged, affecting mainly the coordination of muscle movements. This disorder occurs over a long-term period and becomes more common with age. 

Parkinson’s disease also has a close connection with type 2 diabetes. However, before we see how diabetes and Parkison’s disease are connected, let’s know more about Parkinson’s.

What Are the Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s disease is usually characterised by three main symptoms: tremors, slowness of movements and muscle stiffness. 

Other symptoms of the disease may include sexual dysfunction, excessive sweating, constipation, blurry vision, urinary incontinence, depression, anxiety and memory problems. 

The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are usually mild at first and become worse with time. However, the severity of these symptoms varies from person to person. 

How Does Parkinson’s Disease Occur?

When the part of the brain known as the substantia nigra suffers a loss of nerve cells, messages sent down through these nerves to control muscle movement get affected. Furthermore, nerve cell damage lowers dopamine production, which plays a leading role in regulating body movement. 

As the nerve messages to the muscles become abnormally slow, symptoms of Parkinson’s disease start showing. However, the cause of this nerve damage is still unclear. 

What Is the Connection Between Diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease?

Many studies have been conducted to identify the link between type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. 

The link first became known when, in 2007, some Finnish researchers found that people with type 2 diabetes are 80% more likely to have Parkinson’s disease. 

Later, in October 2014, an Israeli chemist, Yifat Miller, reportedly discovered the exact connection between these two disorders. He hypothesised that when amylin, an endocrine hormone, found in the brain, clumps together, it destroys neurons and causes Parkinson’s disease. In addition, this clumping effect also harms insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas and causes type 2 diabetes, explaining why people with type 2 diabetes face double the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. 

Many more studies have also been conducted to identify the impact of type 2 diabetes on the pathophysiological mechanism of Parkinson’s disease. These studies have identified many pathophysiological links, such as neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and the protein misfolding process. 

Insulin resistance and hyperglycemia, which are two of the most common complications of diabetes, are also found to have a negative effect on Parkinson’s disease. 

How Is Parkinson’s Disease Diagnosed?

There are no specific tests to diagnose Parkinson’s disease. A diagnosis of this disease is usually based on identifying the symptoms, understanding the medical history and seeing how you perform some basic physical exercises. 

Your doctor may refer you to a specialist if he suspects Parkinson’s disease. The specialist may carry out a brain scan to differentiate Parkinson’s disease from other brain problems.  

How To Treat Parkinson’s Disease?

There is no permanent cure for Parkinson’s disease. The treatment is aimed only to improve the quality of life by preventing the progression of symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. 

Your treatment may constitute medications, physiotherapy, speech therapy, etc., to ease the symptoms. 

Managing type 2 diabetes can also help slow down the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, screening of type 2 diabetes in patients with Parkinson’s disease or vice-versa is highly recommended. 

The Final Takeaway

There is a direct connection between type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. If you have diabetes, you are at a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s. 

However, understanding the symptoms and managing them properly can slow down the progression of the disease and improve the quality of your life. 

References

• https://www.israel21c.org/why-diabetes-raises-risk-of-parkinsons/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17251276/
• https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00302/full
• https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mds.28551
• https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mds.29122
• https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/parkinsons-disease.html
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7437092/