Our bodies are programmed to keep our internal temperature at a near-constant point, using very complex mechanisms. Parkinson’s disease (PD) can unfortunately interfere with this regulation, and it can significantly affect quality of life when these mechanisms don’t work well. Without proper temperature regulation, a person may feel that they are too hot or too cold. They may sweat too little or too much.
Although dysregulation of temperature is not as well-known as other non-motor symptoms in PD, such as constipation or sleep disorders, it is actually very common, and can also be a pre-motor symptom of PD, developing years before motor symptoms. In general, temperature dysregulation in PD is under-studied and under-reported as a non-motor symptom.
