Allergic Rhinitis Linked to Parkinson's Disease

Filed in archive Allergy: Research and Development , Hay Fever on August 8, 2006

In a survey conducted by researchers from the Mayo Clinic, doctors have discovered a link between allergic rhinitis and Parkinson's Disease (PD), a neurological order characterized by tremors, stiffness of limbs and trunk, slowness of movement and impaired balance. PD is the condition that afflicts popular personalities such as actor Michael J. Fox and professional boxer Muhammad Ali.

They found that those with allergic rhinitis were 2.9 times more likely to develop Parkinson's later in life. They think that the common factor between the two diseases are people's tendency to develop inflammation.

"People with allergic rhinitis mount an immune response with their allergies, so they may be more likely to mount an immune response in the brain as well, which would produce inflammation," Dr. Bower says. "The inflammation produced may release certain chemicals in the brain and inadvertently kill brain cells, as we see in Parkinson's."

The doctors were quick to emphasize though, that this does NOT mean that allergies cause Parkinson's Disease. Instead, allergic rhinitis is just one of the many factors contributing to the risk of contracting the disease.

Read the entire feature article from EurekAlert, or the scientific paper published in the Neurology journal.