2023-07-06 05:44:08
Parkinson’s: smart watches might detect the disease © Adobe stock
Seven years before the onset of symptoms, connected watches might detect Parkinson’s disease. This is what emerges from a British study conducted among more than 100,000 people.
Parkinson’s affects motor functions
272,500 French people are affected by Parkinson’s disease. 25,000 new cases occur each year. This disease is neurodegenerative, with the progressive disappearance of certain neurons in the brain. Parkinson’s is characterized by a decrease in motor functions : slowing down of gestures, rigidity of the limbs, tremors, increasingly small handwriting.
A watch that records the speed of movements
British researchers came up with the idea of lay trackers on the wrist of 103,712 people in the form of connected watch. This watch recorded the average speed of their movements throughout the day. The starting hypothesis of the researchers was to identify early the presence of Parkinson’s disease thanks to the speed of their movements.
The watch identifies people at risk
According to the study published by researchers from Cardiff University, people “significantly” slower in their movements, between 7 a.m. and midnight, were more at risk to develop the disease Parkinson years later. If the connected watch does not determine with certainty the sick people, it might help identify those most at risk.
Detect 7 years before the first symptoms
“Using this type of data, we would potentially be able to identify individuals to very early stages of the disease of Parkinson’s disease in the general population”, emphasizes Dr. Cynthia Sandor. She led this study from the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University. “We have shown here that a single week of captured data can predict events up to seven years in the future,” she adds.
Source : Cardiff University
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