Bike test accurate key to Parkinson’s diagnosis

LONDON - Researchers have found that the ability to ride a bicycle is way cheaper and more precise in diagnosing Parkinson’s than a battery of tests.

Neurologists from Parkinson Centre, the Netherlands, wrote to the Lancet journal that those with standard Parkinson’s were more likely to still be able to ride a bike, whereas those with atypical Parkinson’s were not.

Only four percent of those with standard Parkinson’s were unable to ride a bike, compared with more than half of those with the atypical form of the condition, their letter said.

Atypical Parkinson’s is more likely to involve cognitive and memory problems as well as tremors associated with the standard form of the disease, and may require a different treatment, according to the Telegraph.

Marjolein Aerts, Wilson Abdo and Bastiaan Bloem, neurologists from the Parkinson Centre, said: We suggest that the answer to one simple question - ‘Can you still ride a bicycle?’ - offers good diagnostic value for separating Parkinson’s disease from atypical parkinsonism.

Their letter added: Cycling requires a highly coordinated interplay between balance, co-ordination, and rhythmic pedalling of the legs.”