Further evidence for a distinctive atypical degenerative parkinsonism in the Caribbean: A new cluster in the French West Indian Island of Martinique.

Background: A high prevalence of an atypical levodopa-resistant parkinsonism has been reported in the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. These seminal observations have not been replicated or extended to neighbouring populations who share genetic and environmental characteristics.

Methods: To further characterise this atypical parkinsonism we prospectively investigated 305 consecutive patients with neurodegenerative parkinsonism in a community-based population from Guadeloupe and Martinique, a neighbouring French Caribbean island where the population has similar environmental and genetic backgrounds.