Evaluation of the effect of Age-Related Macular Degeneration type and stage on the risk of Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Abstract Purpose To investigate the association of Parkinson’s Disease(PD) with Age-Related Macular Degeneration(AMD) type and stage. Methods Our prospective study, the dry-type AMD group consisted of 296 patients with early stage and 284 patients with late-stage. The neovascular AMD group included 285 early-stage and 277 late-stage patients. The control group consisted of 300 patients who were similar in terms of age and gender. AMD patients will be grouped as dry and neovascular type, as well as the early and late-stages. The patients were questioned about the use of drugs for PD, and the use was recorded as having the disease. In the absence of drug use, detailed inquiries were made for both diseases. If any of the complaints seen in the PD was present, the patient was referred to a neurologist, and the presence or absence of the PD was confirmed. Results PD was detected in 1% of the control group and 4.6% in the neovascular type AMD group, and this difference was statistically significant (p:0.04). This significant difference was present in both the early stage (%4.5) and late-stage (%4.6 ) (p:0.04, p:0.04). In addition, PD was determined 3.78 times greater among neovascular AMD patients(p:0.03), and significant association was present in both early-stage (3.72 times) and late-stage (3.82 times) (p:0.03, p:0.03). In the dry-type AMD group 2.7% PD was detected and there was no statistically significant difference compared to the control group (p > 0.05). This difference was not significant in the early stage (%2.3) or late-stage (%2.8) and also there was no significant association with dry-type AMD (p > 0.05). Also, unilateral and bilateral involvement in AMD was not associated with PD disease (p > 0.05). Conclusions Our study revealed the relationship between early and late-neovascular AMD and PD. However, this significant relationship was not detected between early and late-neovascular AMD and PD. Common pathways mediated by dopamine reduction in neovascular AMD and Parkinson's disease may explain the association of neovascular AMD with a higher risk of Parkinson's disease.