Parkinson’s disease is perhaps best known for its movement-related symptoms, particularly tremors and stiffness.
But the disease is also known to hinder vocal production, giving those with Parkinson’s a soft monotonous voice. Those symptoms, research has suggested, often appear much earlier in the disease’s development — sometimes decades before movement-related symptoms.
New research by University of Arizona neuroscientists suggests that a specific gene commonly associated with Parkinson’s may be behind those vocal-related issues — a finding that could help lead to earlier diagnoses and treatments for Parkinson’s patients.
