Hope this information helps. I pulled this information up.

Can having been infected with COVID-19 contribute to future risk of developing PD?
There have been some articles in the medical literature, suggesting that COVID-19 may be a risk factor for developing PD. This paper reviewed the medical literature and found 20 cases of people who developed parkinsonism in the setting of severe COVID-19 infection (which is a very small number considering that, at this point in the pandemic, billions of people worldwide have been infected with the virus). It must be emphasized however, that since COVID-19 remains a new illness, and PD is known to be a disease that develops slowly over years, the relationship between COVID-19 and PD may yet unfold over time. This review article nicely explains many of the issues to consider when thinking about the relationship between COVID-19 and PD.

New research has shed some light on whether COVID-19 can increase the risk of PD. It is well established that the pathologic hallmark of PD is the abnormal aggregation of alpha-synuclein which can be found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of people with PD, even very early on in the disease course. The laboratory of Un Kang (an APDA Scientific Advisory Board member) was not able to isolate any abnormally aggregated alpha-synuclein from the cerebrospinal fluid of patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Although this research is reassuring, the relationship between COVID-19 and Parkinson’s disease may yet evolve over time as we learn more.

@A MyParkinsonsTeam Member, great question!

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A MyParki...

Martha,
Great information. Thank you.

Because of my age, the Neurologist told me that there is not enough data to say the root cause was related to the COVID-19 infection. But he did say that there is a lot of data that shows some inference statistically, but no convincing conclusions. Frustrating to say the least. I think it is absolutely scary to think about the millions of folks that experienced the infection and what the future looks like for them.

Hugs to all, hang in there.