PARKINSON'S DISEASE NEWS

30th December 2010 - New research

THE RISK OF CANCER IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Movement Disorders [2010] 25 (12) : 1809-1817 (Lo RY, Tanner CM, Van Den Eeden SK, Albers KB, Leimpeter AD, Nelson LM.) Complete abstract

Cancer has often been linked positively or negatively with Parkinson's Disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of cancer before and after the diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. The prevalence of cancer was not found to be significantly lower in people with Parkinson's Disease as had been previously claimed. However, among specific cancers, melanoma was found to be more common among people with Parkinson's Disease. This increased prevalence was not related to the use of dopaminergic drugs such as L-dopa and dopamine agonists. So they are not the cause. Parkinson's Disease and the skin are oddly associated, because both dopamine, whose deficiency causes Parkinson's Disease, and melanin, the pigment that causes skin to darken, are both made from L-dopa. So the inability to produce sufficient L-dopa that causes Parkinson's Disease  would also affect the ability to produce sufficient L-dopa in order to produce the melanin pigment that protects skin against the sun.  For more current news go to Parkinson's Disease News.

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Parkinson's Disease News details all significant new research, news reports, new books, and new resources concerning Parkinson's Disease and those medical disorders that often coincide with Parkinson's Disease. It is compiled from an analysis of  all newly published research, news reports, new clinical trials, all newly published books, and new web sites. A summary and analysis of the new research are provided,  as well as links to the complete abstracts and news reports