Parkinson’s and eyes

[forest1]

Yesterday, I had an eye test and my vision has improved. This is great but I spent a lot of money on some new glasses last year because my vision and had declined. I have poor eyesight and wear complex lenses. Looking at the times of each eye test, last years was done first thing in the morning and a test yesterday what time in the afternoon. Naïvely I am wondering whether there is a levodopa connection, i.e. I am more on after several doses during the day. I do notice that sometimes my eyes are quite blurry but I’m thought this might be down to amantadine, but was told probably not by the optometrist. Any thoughts on any PD relationship or relationship with on and off times due to medication?

[Hikoi]

Yes I think levadopa does alter our sight over the day. I have fuzzy vision at certain times. Will look out any research i can.

[forest1 in reply to Hikoi]

Thank you Hikoi

[Hikoi]

Cant find the reference now but I read that PD causes a loss of retinal cells in the eye that rely on dopamine to process and perceive colour. Parkinson's may also impact the eyelids. People with PD blink less frequently, which can lead to dryness, irritation or burning of the eyes.

davisphinneyfoundation.org/...

[forest1 in reply to Hikoi]

Thank you Hikoi. This condition has daily surprises!

[cleo]

I too notice differences in my vision depending on time of day. i get double vision especially in eveningand struggle to actually open eyes in morning.

[BeedieBird]

I had an eyestroke some years ago which took out the central vision of my left eye. The retinal specialist feels it was related to Orthostatic Hypotension, definitely a symptom I was experiencing at the time from Parkinson's. My eyesight is horrible and getting worse. I'm now on drops for Glaucoma as eye pressure kept rising after the eye stroke. I definitely feel it's all related in my case to Parkinson's as I have no other health issues.

[forest1 in reply to BeedieBird]

Hi BeedieBird.

I have had to delete my original reply as I have since looked into hypotension and eye strokes. Very interesting and another problem I guess associated with Parkinson’s patients. As if we need more! I worked for 15 years in stroke care and had never come across it. I wonder if this is considered by stroke specialists and neurologists. I am sorry to read of your eye damage.

My original message was making sure that it could have been a retinal artery occlusion but I guess this was explored - newsroom.heart.org/news/str....

[BeedieBird in reply to forest1]

Yes, my eye stroke was a rare cilioretinal artery occlusion caused by OH. My retinal specialist had only ever seen a few in his career. At the time I had not been diagnosed with Parkinson's and I was just told it was an anomaly 🤷‍♀️. I believe it connects to the Parkinson's though my neurologist doesn't believe so.

[BeedieBird]

P.S. I was not on any medication at the time. I feel it was 100% Parkinson's doing its work.

[pvw2]

Levodopa shows promise against macular degeneration

medicalxpress.com/news/2015....

[pvw2 in reply to pvw2]

Levodopa may improve vision in patients with macular degenerationmedicalxpress.com/news/2015....

[pvw2 in reply to pvw2]

Levodopa may improve vision in patients with macular degenerationsciencedaily.com/releases/2...

[forest1 in reply to pvw2]

Thank you for the interesting articles Pvw2.