Researchers have found a link between visual hallucinations in people with Parkinson’s disease and the thinning of the inner retina in the eye.

As part of the study – published in research journal Scientific Reports – researchers analysed clinical and demographic data from 40 people with Parkinson’s, all of whom were over 50 years old and had had the condition for at least three years.

Participants were assessed using the cognitive screening tool Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and through interviews with neurologists.

The results showed that patients with visual hallucinations had a thinner inner retinal layer than patients without them.

The researchers wrote: “In patients with Parkinson’s disease, visual hallucinations appear to be associated with a thinning of the inner retinal layers and, possibly, with reduced visual acuity.

“Further research using a longitudinal design is necessary to confirm these findings and to establish the causality of these relationships.”

Author: Simge Eva Dogan

Originally published in Parkinson’s Life