Stroke and idiopathic Parkinson's disease: Does a shortage of dopamine offer protection against stroke?

Data on the relationship between idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and s troke are conflicting. In this study, we examined the frequency uf IPD in s troke patients registered in the Maastricht Stroke Registry. With the use o f three different search strategies, we found eight individuals with IPD am ongst a total of 1.516 stroke patients. We had expected to find approximate ly 30 IPD patients (relative risk 0.27; 95% confidence interval 0.11-0.53). based on IPD prevalence figures from a Dutch population-based study. We sp eculate that dopamine deficiency may protect against ischaemic brain damage r perhaps by reducing the effects of excitotoxicity.