Objective: To quantitatively characterize oculomotor abnormalities in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and to evaluate their potential utility for assessing oculomotor dysfunction and supporting early disease identification.

Background: PD involves progressive neurodegeneration of basal ganglia–cortical and brainstem networks that play a critical role in oculomotor control. Subtle eye movement abnormalities may emerge early in the disease course and reflect impairment of distributed motor and cognitive control circuits. Quantitative assessment of oculomotor function therefore offers a non-invasive approach to objectively capture early neural dysfunction in PD.

Method: Thirty-nine patients with clinically diagnosed Parkinson’s disease and forty age-matched healthy controls were enrolled. All participants underwent standardized video nystagmography. Parameters of saccadic eye movements (velocity, latency, and accuracy), smooth pursuit eye movements (velocity and gain), and optokinetic nystagmus (velocity and gain) were recorded and compared between groups.

Results: Compared with healthy controls, patients with Parkinson’s disease demonstrated significantly prolonged saccadic latency and reduced saccadic accuracy. Smooth pursuit gain was also significantly decreased in the PD group. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups with respect to saccadic velocity, smooth pursuit velocity, or optokinetic nystagmus velocity and gain.

Conclusion: Patients with Parkinson’s disease exhibit distinct oculomotor abnormalities, primarily manifested as prolonged saccadic latency, reduced saccadic accuracy, and decreased smooth pursuit gain. Quantitative oculomotor assessment may provide a sensitive and reproducible tool for evaluating oculomotor dysfunction in PD and may contribute to early disease detection.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/quantitative-analysis-of-oculomotor-abnormalities-in-parkinsons-disease/