A STUDY OF THE NUTRITIONAL-STATUS OF ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH PARKINSONS-DISEASE

Patients with Parkinson's disease tend to lose weight although the rea sons are uncertain. Fifteen patients with stable Parkinson's disease w ho had lost at least 5 kg in weight, and 15 age- and sex-matched contr ol subjects were studied. All subjects underwent physical examination, anthropometric measurements, biochemical and haematological screening , measurement of tumour necrosis factor and full dietary assessment. T he Parkinson's disease patients who had lost a mean of 6.2 kg had sign ificantly less body fat and a lower total peripheral lymphocyte count than the control subjects. Dietary analysis showed a higher daily inta ke of calories in the patients which was derived from an increased car bohydrate intake. Tumour necrosis factor was not detected in either th e patients or control subjects. Parkinson's disease patients lose weig ht in spite of an increased calorie intake. This may reflect an increa sed metabolic rate.