title: Postmortem brain fatty acid profile of levodopa-treated Parkinson disease patients and parkinsonian monkeys.
abstract: Fatty acids play a critical role in brain function but their specific role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson disease (PD) and levodopa-induced motor complications is still unknown. From a therapeutic standpoint, it is important to determine the relation between brain fatty acids and PD because the brain fatty acid content depends on nutritional intake, a readily manipulable environmental factor. Here, we report a postmortem analysis of fatty acid profile by gas chromatography in the brain cortex of human patients (12 PD patients and nine Controls) as well as in the brain cortex of monkeys (four controls, five drug-naive MPTP monkeys and seven levodopa-treated MPTP monkeys). Brain fatty acid profile of cerebral cortex tissue was similar between PD patients and Controls and was not correlated with age of death, delay to autopsy or brain pH. Levodopa administration in MPTP monkeys increased arachidonic acid content (+7%; P < 0 .05) but decreased docosahexaenoic acid concentration (-15%; P < 0.05) and total n-3:n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio (-27%; P < 0.01) compared to drug-naive MPTP animals. Interestingly, PD patients who experienced motor complications to levodopa had higher arachidonic acid concentrations in the cortex compared to Controls (+13.6%; P < 0.05) and to levodopa-treated PD patients devoid of motor complications (+14.4%; P < 0.05). Furthermore, PD patients who took an above-median cumulative dose of levodopa had a higher relative amount of saturated fatty acids but lower monounsaturated fatty acids in their brain cortex (P < 0.01). These results suggest that changes in brain fatty acid relative concentrations are associated with levodopa treatment in PD patients and in a non-human primate model of parkinsonism.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Endocrinology and Oncology Research Centre, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval Research Centre (CHUL), Que., Canada.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Julien
authors.forename: Line
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berthiaume
authors.forename: Abdallah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hadj-Tahar
authors.forename: Ali H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Rajput
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Bédard
authors.forename: Thérèse
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Di Paolo
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Julien
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D015259:Dopamine Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004409:Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000494:pharmacology*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D015259:Dopamine Agents; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D007980:Levodopa