SERUM LEVELS OF BETA-CAROTENE AND OTHER CAROTENOIDS IN PARKINSONS-DISEASE

To elucidate the possible role of carotenoids in the risk for developi ng Parkinson's disease (PD), we compared serum levels of beta-carotene , alpha-carotene and lycopene, measured by high performance liquid chr omatography, of 61 PD patients using their spouses as the control grou p. The serum levels of these 3 carotenoids did not differ significantl y between PD patients and control groups. There was no influence of an tiparkinsonian therapy on serum carotenoids levels, and these did not correlate with age, age at onset, scores of the Unified Parkinson Dise ase Rating Scale or the Hoehn and Yahr staging in the PD group. These results show that serum carotenoids concentrations are apparently unre lated to the risk for developing PD.