Grant: Project Grant

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) are increasingly common and strain the health care system. However, diagnosing PD is complicated by the existence of other diseases with similar symptoms (e.g., progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multiple system atrophy (MSA)) and its subtypes (e.g., LRRK2 gene variants) which may require individualized therapies. Developing a method for accurate differentiation of these conditions is crucial for the development of neuroprotective compounds that hinder the conversion from prodromal to disease states. Eye movements are already being used in the clinical diagnosis of neurological disorders. Eye tracking is inexpensive and non-invasive and provides many measures of eye movements, pupil size, and blink frequency that indicate the location of dysfunction in the brain and can provide information to help distinguish PD from similar conditions and determine patients' degree of motor and cognitive impairment. By comparing abnormal eye movement behaviours between these groups, we can help indicate a diagnosis. Additionally, by measuring eye movements in people who do not have PD but may develop it, we can ascertain which behaviours may signal PD risk. Our lab has collected a large group of people with PD, people with similar conditions (PSP, MSA), people likely to develop PD, and healthy people. We will compare behaviour between these groups to establish which eye movements may differentiate between diagnoses or predict developing PD later, as well as which may correspond to the progression of disease symptoms over time. Subsequently, we will use this information to develop an automated tool that can objectively measure individuals' eye movements, pupil size, and blinks, and compute their likelihood of PD or similar disorders. This type of tool will assist clinicians in diagnosis and facilitate developing personalized treatment plans for each patient.