Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition that affects millions of people worldwide. While most treatments focus on movement-related symptoms like tremors or stiffness, many patients also struggle with non-movement issues such as anxiety.
About one in three people with Parkinson’s experience anxiety that disrupts their daily lives, yet effective treatment options are often lacking.
Now, a breakthrough study led by researchers at City St George’s in London and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has identified a link between brain wave activity and anxiety in Parkinson’s patients.
This discovery could pave the way for new therapies using deep brain stimulation (DBS), a treatment already in use for managing physical symptoms of the disease.
What Is Deep Brain Stimulation?
DBS involves implanting small electrodes in specific areas of the brain to regulate abnormal activity. It’s commonly used to help Parkinson’s patients control tremors and other motor symptoms. Until now, however, its potential for addressing emotional challenges like anxiety had not been explored.
The Study: Brain Waves and Anxiety
The research team worked with 33 Parkinson’s patients who had undergone DBS surgery to manage their movement symptoms. Electrodes were placed in the basal ganglia, a part of the brain that plays a key role in movement but also appears to influence emotions.
To understand the connection between brain activity and anxiety, the researchers tracked brain wave patterns in different settings.
Some measurements were taken in the hospital using external electrodes, while others were done at home with implanted devices. Patients’ anxiety levels were assessed during these recordings using clinical scales.
Across all participants, the researchers identified a clear link between anxiety and a specific type of brain wave known as theta wave activity. Theta waves are rhythmic brain signals often associated with emotions, memory, and attention.
In this study, higher levels of theta wave activity corresponded to “trait anxiety,” which reflects a person’s long-term tendency to feel anxious.
A Step Toward Personalized Treatments
This discovery offers new hope for people with Parkinson’s. By using theta wave activity as a marker, doctors may be able to track anxiety levels more accurately over time.
This could also open doors to personalized DBS therapies that target not only physical symptoms but emotional challenges as well.
Dr. Lucia Ricciardi, one of the study’s lead authors, highlighted the significance of the findings: “Anxiety has been recognized as a major unmet need in Parkinson’s disease.
Now that we’ve linked anxiety to theta brain waves, we can begin to explore how DBS can relieve these symptoms. This could lead to advanced treatments tailored to individual patients.”
Beyond Parkinson’s
The implications of this research go beyond Parkinson’s disease. According to Dr. Simon Little, co-lead author from UCSF, understanding the brain circuits involved in anxiety could also benefit people with other conditions.
“Anxiety is disabling in Parkinson’s but is also common in many other disorders. Tracking brain wave signals like theta activity could provide new insights into anxiety and help us develop better therapies across a range of conditions,” he said.
What Comes Next?
While these findings are promising, the researchers emphasize that more work is needed. Future studies will focus on larger groups of patients and explore how DBS can be optimized to target theta wave activity specifically.
For now, this study offers a new understanding of the biological roots of anxiety in Parkinson’s disease and highlights the potential of DBS to address a wider range of symptoms. This could improve the quality of life for countless individuals living with this challenging condition.
If you care about Parkinson’s disease, please read studies that Vitamin B may slow down cognitive decline, and Mediterranean diet could help lower risk of Parkinson’s.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that blueberry supplements may prevent cognitive decline, and results showing Plant-based diets could protect cognitive health from air pollution.
The research findings can be found in Brain.
Copyright © 2024 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
