Published on November 14, 2026
Clinical Trials

World Diabetes Day: Diabetes and Parkinson’s

This World Diabetes Day, we’re exploring the connection between diabetes and Parkinson’s disease and the future of medical research in this area. Research suggests that people living with type 2 diabetes are 40% more likely to develop Parkinson’s than those without¹. This risk increases even more for those who have had type 2 for more than 10 years².

The link between diabetes and Parkinson’s

Diabetes is a condition where blood sugar (glucose) levels in the body are too high. This happens because the body does not produce enough or any insulin—the hormone responsible for cells’ ability to absorb glucose from the blood.

There are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes usually starts early in life and happens when the pancreas produces little or no insulin. In type 2 diabetes, cells stop recognising and responding to insulin, preventing the uptake of glucose. This is called insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% of diabetes cases¹.

Cells need glucose to function, and the dopamine-producing brain cells that are damaged in Parkinson’s have a particularly high glucose requirement. This makes these cells particularly vulnerable and may increase the risk that people with diabetes will develop Parkinson’s.

The impact of diabetes on Parkinson’s

In addition to increased risk, diabetes may also impact the severity and progression of Parkinson’s symptoms. People with comorbid Parkinson’s and type 2 diabetes are more likely to experience more severe motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms. They also have increased risk of showing significantly faster motor symptom progression, worse mood symptoms, and be more likely to develop substantial gait impairment and mild cognitive impairment³.

Individuals living with Parkinson’s who do not have diabetes are also more likely to be prone to glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, meaning they do not respond to insulin as well as they should².

Diabetes medications and Parkinson’s

Researchers are currently investigating whether treatments used by people with type 2 diabetes could be used to help slow or stop the progression of Parkinson’s. Their focus is on medications that target the glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) receptor in the pancreas, which stimulates insulin release, helping cells to absorb more glucose.

GLP-1 receptors are also found in the brain. Lab experiments have demonstrated that GLP-1 medications have significant beneficial effects on dopamine-producing brain cells²; this has led to clinical trials to see if the medications can slow or stop the advancement of Parkinson’s.

So far, these trials have had a mixture of results. For one medication, liraglutide, participants showed improvements in non-motor symptoms and quality of life but not motor symptoms². In another trial, participants taking lixisenatide over a 12-month period did not have a deterioration of movement symptoms compared to those receiving a placebo. However, there was no benefit to quality of life or non-motor symptoms².

While these medications showed promising results, further research is needed to develop medications like this for the treatment of Parkinson’s.

Living with Parkinson’s?

MAC Clinical Research is currently looking for people living with Parkinson’s to participate in a clinical trial. If you are aged 50 to 80 and have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s and you would like to help potentially further treatment options, please visit our Parkinson’s research webpage.