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People
suffering from depression are three times more likely to develop
Parkinson's disease than people who are not depressed, according
to researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
"This
raises the question of whether depression is the first symptom
of Parkinson's disease -- that appears before patients have
other symptoms and a diagnosis," said Agnes Schuurman,
PhD, author of the study.
Researchers
identified 1,358 patients from a health registry in the southern
Netherlands who were diagnosed with depression over a 15-year
period. The group was then matched with 67,570 people in the
registry born in the same year but never diagnosed with depression.
Both groups
were followed for up to 25 years to determine how many of
them developed Parkinson's disease. People in the depressed
group developed the disease at three times the rate of those
in the undepressed group, according to the study published
in the journal Neurology.
Studies
have shown that patients with Parkinson's disease have a lower
level of serotonin, a brain neurotransmitter. Low levels of
serotonin play an integral role in depression. Serotonin also
regulates the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in
the brain. Because the level of dopamine activity is decreased
in Parkinson's patient, researchers speculate the amount of
serotonin activity is also decreased in compensation. That
reduction increases the risk of depression.
"Because
the reduced serotonin activity already exists before any motor
symptoms begin, the risk of depression is also increased long
before any Parkinson's symptoms become apparent," said
Schuurman.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of June 2, 2002
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