Drug-induced parkinsonism a risk factor for
Parkinson's disease
WESTPORT, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Patients who develop an
episode of drug-induced parkinsonism are at increased risk
of developing true Parkinson's disease later on, Mayo Clinic
researchers have discovered.
In a historical cohort study, Dr. David R. Chabolla of the
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, in Florida, and colleagues there
and at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, compared
the incidence of Parkinson's disease in patients who had
experienced an episode of drug-induced parkinsonism with
the expected incidence of Parkinson's disease in the general
population.
They found a relative risk of 24.3 for Parkinson's disease in
patients with a history of drug-induced parkinsonism.
The Mayo team theorizes that "...Parkinson's disease may
be linked to certain types of mental illness, and neuroleptic
use may simply be coincidental." Dr. Chabolla's group also
hypothesizes in the August issue of Mayo Clinic
Proceedings that "...drug-induced parkinsonism may reflect
the unmasking of subclinical Parkinson's disease."
It's also possible that neuroleptic treatment may "...directly
promote or cause the development of Parkinson's disease,"
or that drug-induced parkinsonism and the disease itself
"...share the same genetic predisposition."
Mayo Clin Proc 1998;73:724-727.
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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