Gender effect on time to levodopa-induced dyskinesias.

Levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LID) are commonly observed during long-term treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The impact of non-pharmacological factors on the latency to LID appearance is not known. The aim of the paper was to identify factors associated with time to appearance of LID.

The role of apolipoprotein E polymorphisms in levodopa-induced dyskinesia.

Objectives: To determine the relationship between apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphisms to the time to appearance of levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Methods: The APOE genotype of 155 consecutive patients treated with levodopa was determined and its effect on the time of onset of LID was examined using Cox regression model, controlling for gender, age of disease onset, time to initiation of levodopa treatment and history of smoking.

Results: Two patients were homozygous for the APOE ε2 allele, 7 had ε2/ε3, 1 had ε2/ε4, 130 had ε3/ε3, 12 had ε3/ε4 and 3 had ε4/ε4; LID appeared in 57.

The leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) G2019S substitution mutation. Association with Parkinson disease, malignant melanoma and prevalence in ethnic groups in Israel.

Background: A single missense mutation (G2019S) in the leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene has been reported to be prevalent among Ashkenazi Jewish patients with Parkinson disease (PD). An association between malignant melanoma (MM) and PD was also recently reported. The nature of this association is still elusive.