Cysteine elevation in levodopa-treated patients with Parkinson's disease

✍ Scribed by Thomas Müller; Wilfried Kuhn

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 305 KB
• Volume: 24
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-3185
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.22482

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Homocysteine, cysteine, and cysteinyl‐glycine are all metabolically interrelated. Levodopa/decarboxylase inhibitor (LD/DCI) administration increases total homocysteine (tHcy) plasma levels. Objectives were to investigate associations between LD/DCI intake, concentrations of tHcy, cysteine, and cysteinyl‐glycine in PD patients and healthy controls. Cysteine levels were significant lower in controls and PD patients with tHcy below the treshold of 15 [μmol/L] when compared with PD patients with tHcy above 15. Cysteinyl‐glycine did not significantly differ between the three cohorts. Significant associations appeared between tHcys and cysteine in PD patients. tHcy and cysteine concentrations correlated to LD/DCI intake and severity of PD. The cysteine increase may be due to the significant higher dosing of daily LD/DCI and the significant higher morning LD/DCI dose 1 hour before blood sampling in PD patients with tHcy above 15 when compared with the remaining PD patients and the controls. The correlation outcomes support the view that LD/DCI intake may also increase cysteine. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society