November 4, 2025

@michaelokun

Could turning difficulty when walking today signal Parkinson’s tomorrow? Angular velocity is a measurement of how fast the body rotates or turns during movement. Elshehabi and colleagues describe in a new paper in Annals of Neurology that subtle changes in how folks turn (looking at angular velocity with a sensor) when they walk, may predict a future diagnosis of Parkinson’s, possibly years before symptoms become obvious. Key Points: - Slower turning speed, called peak angular velocity, predicted who would later develop Parkinson’s. - Turning changes emerged almost 9 years before a clinical diagnosis. - A simple wearable sensor placed on the lower back reliably detected early changes. My take: Should primary care doctors be asking folks and families about their turns when walking? It actually makes a lot of sense, and here are 5 points that resonated with me about this paper: 1- Turning is a complex movement that can reveal early changes in the brain long before Parkinson’s becomes obvious. 2- Subtle slowing in turning may be a sign that the nervous system is working harder to keep balance and movement steady. 3- Wearable sensors are emerging as powerful tools to flag early risk in high risk folks w/ prodromal symptoms like smell loss, sleep challenges or even constipation. 4- Early detection will one day matter because once disease modifying therapies arrive, we will want to intervene before movement is visibly impaired. 5- If you notice that turning feels stiff, slow or unsteady, bring it up w/ your health care provider, so they can help track these changes and possibly let a neurologist know. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ana.78034 #parkinson #michaelokun #fixelinstitute