Homocysteine Levels in Parkinson’s Disease: Is Entacapone Effective?
Table 2
Demographic data, clinical characteristics, and serum vitamin B12, folic acid, and homocysteine levels of patients with PD according to treatment groups.
Group I ()
Group II ()
Group III ()
Age (years)
70 (40–89)
65.5 (42–84)
69.5 (53–77)
0.04
Male/female
32 (59.3%)/26 (56.5%)
16 (29.6%)/14 (30.4%)
6 (11.1%)/6 (13%)
0.94
Duration of the PD (years)
5 (1–20)
9.5 (1–24)
3 (1–12)
0.01
Age of onset (years)
65 (35–86)
57 (32–78)
67 (52–72)
0.002
UPDRS II score
11 (3–36)
12 (3–26)
8 (2–16)
0.07
UPDRS III score
15 (6–43)
17 (6–35)
14 (6–30)
0.27
mHY stage
2 (1–5)
2 (1–5)
1.5 (1–3)
0.23
SMMT score
24 (10–30)
25 (15–29)
26 (17–28)
0.46
Hcy (µmol/L)
15.1 (6.3–50)
15.2 (5.18–36)
12.6 (7.92–54.3)
0.30
Vitamin B12 (pg/mL)
268.1 (100–662)
262.5 (147.9–990)
295 (58–768)
0.80
Folic acid (ng/mL)
9.38 ± 2.87
8.67 ± 3.67
10.73 ± 5.02
0.26
LD dose (mg/day)
300 (100–1000)
400 (150–1000)
(—)
0.30
Duration of LD medication (years)
2.5 (1–20)
5.5 (1–20)
(—)
0.27
COMTI dose (mg/day)
(—)
800 (400–1400)
(—)
(—)
Duration of COMTI medication (years)
(—)
2 (1–10)
(—)
(—)
Data reported as median (minimum–maximum) except folic acid values. Folic acid values reported as mean ± SD. Statistical difference was significant between group I and group II (p < 0.05). Statistical difference was significant between group II and group III (p < 0.05). Statistical difference was significant between group II and both of the other groups (p < 0.05). PD: Parkinson’s disease; UPDRS: Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale; mHY: modified Hoehn and Yahr staging scale; SMMT: Standardized Mini-Mental Test; Hcy: homocysteine; LD: levodopa; COMTI: catechol-O-methyl transferase inhibitors.
