AAN 2025 | Investigating the link between liver fibrosis and motor outcomes in Parkinson’s disease
Harini Sarva, MD, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, discusses a study using data from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative to investigate the potential association between liver fibrosis and motor deficits in Parkinson’s disease. The study used the FIB-4 score, a liver function biomarker, to assess whether liver health might influence motor outcomes. While a possible early impact was observed, this did not persist longitudinally, and the reasons remain unclear. Nevertheless, Dr Sarva emphasizes the importance of liver health in Parkinson’s management and the need to counsel patients on medication interactions, alcohol use, and regular physical exams to monitor liver function. This interview took place at the 77th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.
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Transcript
Yeah, this is an interesting study because it used basically the data that’s already available from the Parkinson’s Progression Marker Initiative. And what we did, what my resident Dr Arya Zolan did, was he looked at particular lab values that constitute what’s called a FIB-4 score, so basically liver function scores. And he looked at how, depending on the level of that score, what the effect would be on motor outcomes in Parkinson’s disease...
Yeah, this is an interesting study because it used basically the data that’s already available from the Parkinson’s Progression Marker Initiative. And what we did, what my resident Dr Arya Zolan did, was he looked at particular lab values that constitute what’s called a FIB-4 score, so basically liver function scores. And he looked at how, depending on the level of that score, what the effect would be on motor outcomes in Parkinson’s disease. And interestingly, initially, there may have been some impact early on, but that didn’t entirely translate to a longitudinal aspect. It’s a little unclear why that is. But because of, you know, whatever impact there may be, especially early on, even if it’s subclinical, it’s important to talk to patients about how to make sure that their liver health is good, right? So we have to counsel them about medication interactions, limiting alcohol consumption, and making sure that they’re getting their routine physicals. And part of that is checking their liver function. So we’re more or less ahead of the game so that any potential impacts of liver dysfunction on Parkinson’s can be mitigated sooner rather than later.
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Disclosures
I received research support for my work on clinical trials from Biogen, Meira GTX, Sun Pharma, Bukwang, Genentech, Prevail, BlueRock, Neuroderm, UCB, Cerevance and Novo Nordisk.
