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The retina in Parkinson's disease
Archibald NK, Clarke MP, Mosimann UP, Burn DJ.. Brain : a journal of neurology, 2009-03-31
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
As a more complete picture of the clinical phenotype of Parkinson's disease emerges, non-motor symptoms have become increasingly studied. Prominent among these non-motor phenomena are mood disturbance, cognitive decline and dementia, sleep disorders, hyposmia and autonomic failure. In addition, visual symptoms are common, ranging from complaints of dry eyes and reading difficulties, through to perceptual disturbances (feelings of presence and passage) and complex visual hallucinations. Such visual symptoms are a considerable cause of morbidity in Parkinson's disease and, with respect to visual hallucinations, are an important predictor of cognitive decline as well as institutional care and mortality. Evidence exists of visual dysfunction at several levels of the visual pathway in Parkinson's disease. This includes psychophysical, electrophysiological and morphological evidence of disruption of retinal structure and function, in addition to disorders of 'higher' (cortical) visual processing. In this review, we will draw together work from animal and human studies in an attempt to provide an insight into how Parkinson's disease affects the retina and how these changes might contribute to the visual symptoms experienced by patients.
Key findings
- In addition, visual symptoms are common, ranging from complaints of dry eyes and reading difficulties, through to perceptual disturbances (feelings of presence and passage) and complex visual hallucinations.
- Such visual symptoms are a considerable cause of morbidity in Parkinson's disease and, with respect to visual hallucinations, are an important predictor of cognitive decline as well as institutional care and mortality.
- Evidence exists of visual dysfunction at several levels of the visual pathway in Parkinson's disease.
- This includes psychophysical, electrophysiological and morphological evidence of disruption of retinal structure and function, in addition to disorders of 'higher' (cortical) visual processing.
- In this review, we will draw together work from animal and human studies in an attempt to provide an insight into how Parkinson's disease affects the retina and how these changes might contribute to the visual symptoms experienced by patients.
Why it matters
This review describes visual symptoms in Parkinson's disease, including visual hallucinations that predict cognitive decline, and evidence of retinal dysfunction. It is a review of visual changes in Parkinson's disease, not a study of treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Brain : a journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Brain: journal h-index 503 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2009 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 408 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 21.5 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 63 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author David John Burn: h-index 120 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Newcastle University: institution h-index 932 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19336464) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Archibald, N. K., Clarke, M. P., Mosimann, U. P., & Burn, D. J. (2009). The retina in Parkinson's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awp068
Vancouver
Archibald NK, Clarke MP, Mosimann UP, Burn DJ. The retina in Parkinson's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2009. doi:10.1093/brain/awp068. PMID: 19336464.
BibTeX
@article{archibald2009-19336464,
author = {Archibald, N. K. and Clarke, M. P. and Mosimann, U. P. and Burn, D. J.},
title = {{The retina in Parkinson's disease}},
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1093/brain/awp068},
pmid = {19336464},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awp068}
}
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