Medical Hypothesis, Discovery & Innovation in Optometry

Abstract

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world. We aimed to review both disease and drug-related ocular manifestation of PD.

Methods: In this paper we reviewed and summarized papers concerning ocular manifestations of PD. This was a literature search on ocular manifestations and drug-related complications of PD. Also, use of current noninvasive imaging techniques such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the early diagnosis and monitoring PD were discussed.

Results: Impaired color vision, reduced stereopsis, reduced contrast sensitivity, pupillary abnormalities, eye movements disorders, convergence insufficiency, dry eye syndrome, glaucoma, several visual dysfunctions, retinal abnormalities, and drug-related side effects, were among the listed ocular manifestations of PD. There is a large gap regarding the type of glaucoma involved, whether it is open-angle or other types. Further case studies and long-term follow-ups during PD progression are necessary to fill this gap. The problem could be patient compliance with the follow-up visits to do more visual field tests and OCT during PD progression, when dementia and cognitive impairment occur.  

Conclusions: There is a general need to perform further tests and more visual examinations to rule out these ocular manifestations by clinicians. Also, more clinical trials are needed to further evaluate different types of OCT as biomarkers in PD progression. This would aid in early diagnosis and delaying the progression of disease if treated promptly.