SERUM LEVELS OF ASCORBIC-ACID (VITAMIN-C) IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSONS-DISEASE

To elucidate the possible role of vitamin C in the risk for developing Parkinson's disease (PD), we compared serum levels of ascorbic acid ( vitamin C), measured by a fluorometric method, of 63 PD patients using their spouses as the control group. The serum levels of vitamin C did not differ significantly between the groups (47.13 +/- 0.89 mug/ml fo r PD and 47.60 +/- 0.60 mug/ml for controls). There was no influence o f antiparkinsonian therapy on vitamin C. Serum levels of vitamin C did not correlate with age, age at onset and duration of the disease, sco res of the Unified PD Rating Scale or the Hoehn and Yahr staging in th e PD group. These results suggest that serum vitamin C concentrations are apparently unrelated to the risk of developing PD.