Elevated circulating homocysteine levels have been associated with cognitive impairment and cardio-cerebro-vascular events. Levodopa treatment of Parkinson's disease tends to further elevate circulating homocysteine levels due to the metabolism of levodopa via catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). COMT co-factors are vitamins B12, B6 and folic acid. Accumulating deficiencies of these vitamins are presumed to be the substrate for the homocysteine elevation. B-vitamin therapy reduces homocysteine levels. This begs the question of whether Parkinson's disease patients on levodopa should be concurrently treated with ongoing B-vitamin therapy (versus long-term monitoring of B-vitamins/homocysteine). There is a substantial literature on this topic that has accumulated over the last quarter-century, and this topic is still debated. This review summarizes the relevant literature with the aim of approximating closure on this issue. Also, noteworthy is that Parkinson's disease patients with renal insufficiency may not tolerate cyanocobalamin, the standard oral B12 supplement due to facilitation of renal decline; alternatives are discussed.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.parkreldis.2023.105357 | DOI Listing |
Neurol Res Pract
January 2025
Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), Haus D7, Josef-Schneider-Straße 2, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
Background: Comprehensive clinical data regarding factors influencing the individual disease course of patients with movement disorders treated with deep brain stimulation might help to better understand disease progression and to develop individualized treatment approaches.
Methods: The clinical core data set was developed by a multidisciplinary working group within the German transregional collaborative research network ReTune. The development followed standardized methodology comprising review of available evidence, a consensus process and performance of the first phase of the study.
Nat Commun
January 2025
Neurochemistry Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
DOPA Decarboxylase (DDC) has been proposed as a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker with increased concentrations in Lewy body disorders (LBDs) and highest levels in patients receiving dopaminergic treatment. Here we evaluate plasma DDC, measured by proximity extension assay, and the effect of dopaminergic treatment in three independent LBD (with a focus on dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD)) cohorts: an autopsy-confirmed cohort (n = 71), a large multicenter, cross-dementia cohort (n = 1498) and a longitudinal cohort with detailed treatment information (n = 66, median follow-up time[IQR] = 4[4, 4] years). Plasma DDC was not altered between different LBDs and other disease groups or controls in absence of treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Psychiatry
January 2025
Department of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience, Cardiff University, United Kingdom and UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
In this perspective we draw together the data from the genome wide association studies for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and the tauopathies and reach the conclusion that in each case, most of the risk loci are involved in the clearance of the deposited proteins: in Alzheimer's disease, the microglial removal of Aβ, in the synucleinopathies, the lysosomal clearance of synuclein and in the tauopathies, the removal of tau protein by the ubiquitin proteasome. We make the point that most loci identified through genome wide association studies are not strictly pathogenic but rather relate to failures to remove age related damage. We discuss these issues in the context of copathologies in elderly individuals and the prediction of disease through polygenic risk score analysis at different ages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParkinsonism Relat Disord
January 2025
The Queen's Medical Center, 1301 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA; University of Hawai'i at Manoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine, 651 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
Background: Filipinos are the third largest sub-group of Asian Americans in the United States and have greater socioeconomic and health disparities than many other Asian sub-groups [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. Characteristics of Filipino patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have not been adequately studied.
Objective: To scope the extent, range and nature of current knowledge on PD in Filipino-American (FA) patients in contrast to Filipino patients in general.
Adv Drug Deliv Rev
January 2025
Neurodegenerative Diseases Department, Kadimastem Ltd, Pinchas Sapir 7, Weizmann Science Park, Ness-Ziona, Israel; Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100, Rehovot, Israel.
Self-renewal capacity and potential to differentiate into almost any cell type of the human body makes pluripotent stem cells a valuable starting material for manufacturing of clinical grade cell therapies. Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by gradual loss of structure or function of neurons, often leading to neuronal death. This results in gradual decline of cognitive, motor, and physiological functions due to the degeneration of the central nervous systems.
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