Levels of HVA, 5-HIAA, and MHPG in the CSF of vascular parkinsonism compared to Parkinson's disease and controls.

The neurochemical abnormalities underlying vascular parkinsonism (VP) have not been well characterised. A better understanding may help to optimize pharmacological interventions. Since VP patients generally have a poorer response to l-Dopa than Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, we investigated whether levels of relevant CSF neurotransmitter metabolites may be differentially altered in VP and PD and assessed the potential of neurotransmitter metabolites as biomarkers. We compared CSF levels of homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol, in 16 VP patients, 57 PD patients and 60 non-neurological controls. We found that levels of HVA were reduced in PD compared with both VP and controls but did not differ significantly between VP and controls indicating that dopamine deficiency was less pronounced in VP.