Investigation of the Association of Homocysteine and MTHFR Polymorphisms and Treatment Options in Parkinson’s disease in Turkey

Aim In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms to homocysteine levels in patients with Parkinson's disease who were treated with levodopa and entekapone. Material and Methods Plasma homocysteine (hcy), folat and vitamin B12 and MTHFR (C677T, A1298C) polymorphisms and treatment options were compared in 70 Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients whom taking levodopa (n=26), dopamine agonist (n=11) and levodopa and entacapone treatment together (n=33) with 100 controls. Results Although no statistically significant difference was detected, hcy level of the patients was found higher compared to control group (patient 18.29 ± 9.22 µmol /l vs control 15.77 ± 7.58 µmol / l; p> 0,05) and hcy level was highest in the patients receiving only levodopa, too (19.56 ± 10.77 µmol / l; p> 0,05). The frequency of TT genotype in the patients was higher compared to the control group (11.4%, 6%, P 0, 05). Conclusions Finally, we concluded that both 677TT genotype and levodopa treatment might be jointly contributed to the increasing of the plasma hcy levels in PD patients and entacapone limitedly decreased hcy levels during levodopa treatment but results need to be confirmed with larger sample sized comprehensive studies.