CARBIDOPA-LEVODOPA AND SELEGILINE DO NOT AFFECT PLATELET MITOCHONDRIAL-FUNCTION IN EARLY PARKINSONISM

Previous studies have demonstrated impaired complex I activity in plat elets from Parkinson's disease (PD) patients who were receiving levodo pa and other medications for their disease. Eleven patients with early PD underwent three sequential plateletphereses: while on no medicatio n, after receiving carbidopa/levodopa for 1 month, and after receiving carbidopa/levodopa plus selegiline for 1 additional month. As expecte d, carbidopa/levodopa and selegiline significantly improved motor func tion in these patients. Treatment with carbidopa/levodopa alone and ca rbidopa/levodopa plus selegiline did not affect the activities of comp lexes I, II/III, and TV and citrate synthetase. These observations sup port the hypothesis that impaired complex I activity in PD patients is a characteristic of the disease and not due to medications.