Early marker for Parkinson’s: Researchers have found that subtle changes in how people turn while walking may help flag Parkinson’s disease years before it is diagnosed.
In a long-term study, scientists from the University Hospital of Kiel in Germany and Murdoch University in Australia followed 1,051 adults over the age of 50 for around 10 years. Participants wore a single motion sensor on their lower back and were asked to walk down a 20-metre hallway. The device measured details of their turning movements, including the angle of the turn, how long it took, and how fast they moved.
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The analysis showed that people with a slower peak angular velocity, the speed at the fastest point of a turn, were more likely to go on to develop Parkinson’s disease. Turning speed began to drop nearly nine years before the condition was formally diagnosed in the 23 participants who later developed Parkinson’s.
According to the study, published in Annals of Neurology, this slowing could be one of the earliest detectable motor changes linked to the disease. The authors reported that reduced peak angular velocity at the start of the study was associated with a higher risk of a future Parkinson’s diagnosis, with clear differences from healthy controls emerging about 8.8 years before clinical confirmation.
The researchers suggest that wearable sensors could, in future, be used alongside other early warning signs to identify people at higher risk well before symptoms become obvious. Earlier detection, they say, could support faster testing of treatments aimed at slowing disease progression and helping people maintain independence for longer.
