Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are at risk of a number of compulsive behaviors associated with dopaminergic drugs. We report one case of unusual compulsive shopping in idiopathic Parkinson disease (IPD) in relation to dopaminergic therapy. The mechanism explaining the behavior in this case is likely related to increased dopaminergic stimulation of non-motor basal ganglia loops. It suggests that perhaps many dopaminergic medications can be associated with compulsive behaviors.
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The cause of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) is unknown, but reduced activity of complex I of the electron-transport chain has been implicated in the pathogenesis of IPD. Hyperhomocysteinemia is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However, recent evidence suggests that changes in the metabolic fate of homocysteine, leading to hyperhomocysteinemia, may also play a role in the pathophysiology of IPD.
Age and sex-matched 41 drug-naive IPD patients (16 men and 25 women) and 161 healthy controls (66 men and 95 women) were included in this study. Their fasting plasma homocystein and folate level, and the genotypes of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) were analyzed.
The plasma level of homocysteine was higher in untreated IPD patients (12.0±2.9 μmol/L) compared to the controls (9.0±2.6 μmol/L) (
IPD patients have higher plasma homocysteine level than healthy controls but MTHFR C667T genotype was not related to the homocysteine level. It can be suggested that increased plasma homocysteine level may contribute to the pathogenesis of IPD.