Cannuli Antonio, Freni Fabrizio, Quattrocchi Antonino, Terranova Carmen, Venuto Andrea, Montanini Roberto
Department of Engineering, University of Messina, C.da di Dio, 98166 Messina, Italy.
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Sensors (Basel). 2025 Aug 23;25(17):5243. doi: 10.3390/s25175243.
In this preliminary study, the thermoregulatory response in individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease was investigated by infrared thermography. Parkinson's disease is a complex neurodegenerative disorder primarily known for motor impairments, significantly reducing the quality of life of affected people. However, in most cases, such disease is accompanied or preceded by non-motor symptoms, including autonomic dysfunction. As in the case of neurovegetative dysautonomia, this dysfunction involves a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which also plays a key role in thermoregulation. In general, such conditions are not always easy to detect; a valid method could be represented by the vasomotor response of the skin to cold stimuli. In this context, infrared thermography can provide insights into the thermoregulatory patterns associated with autonomic dysfunction, representing a valuable tool for non-invasive assessment of Parkinson's research. Early biomarkers of the disease can be obtained through changes in skin temperature, allowing for timely intervention and management. The study was conducted on a cohort of 16 subjects (8 patients with Parkinson's disease and 8 healthy controls), who were monitored with infrared images captured from their hands, following a specific protocol established by a preliminary analysis. Experimental results revealed that thermography can detect focal points and regions exhibiting either hyper- or hypothermia across the skin surface and muscular regions. This capability allows for extracting and categorizing precise medical data, which could inform future research aimed at identifying early markers of the disease. However, as this is a preliminary observational study, no diagnostic claims are made, and further investigations on larger cohorts with controlled comorbidities are needed.
在这项初步研究中，通过红外热成像技术对被诊断为帕金森病的个体的体温调节反应进行了调查。帕金森病是一种复杂的神经退行性疾病，主要以运动障碍而闻名，严重降低了患者的生活质量。然而，在大多数情况下，这种疾病伴有或先于非运动症状，包括自主神经功能障碍。就神经植物性自主神经功能障碍而言，这种功能障碍涉及自主神经系统的功能失常，而自主神经系统在体温调节中也起着关键作用。一般来说，这些情况并不总是容易检测到；一种有效的方法可以是皮肤对冷刺激的血管运动反应。在这种情况下，红外热成像可以提供与自主神经功能障碍相关的体温调节模式的见解，是帕金森病研究无创评估的宝贵工具。通过皮肤温度的变化可以获得该疾病的早期生物标志物，从而实现及时干预和管理。该研究针对一组16名受试者（8名帕金森病患者和8名健康对照）进行，按照初步分析确定的特定方案，用从他们手部拍摄的红外图像进行监测。实验结果表明，热成像可以检测到皮肤表面和肌肉区域出现体温过高或过低的焦点和区域。这种能力有助于提取和分类精确的医学数据，可为未来旨在识别该疾病早期标志物的研究提供信息。然而，由于这是一项初步观察性研究，未提出诊断主张，需要对具有可控合并症的更大队列进行进一步调查。
