Credit: Sergio Miranda

A Korean study published in the European Journal of Neurology has found visual disability in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was associated with the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Led by Dr Yoon Je-Moon from Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, the research team analysed the records of 4,205,520 Korean individuals aged ≥50 years with no previous PD diagnosis. In addition to supporting the established association between the two conditions, researchers said their study was the first to show the risk of PD development was higher in individuals with AMD and concurrent vision loss, suggesting neurodegeneration in PD and AMD may have common pathways.