title: Comparison of chocolate to cacao-free white chocolate in Parkinson's disease: a single-dose, investigator-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.
abstract: A previous questionnaire study suggests an increased chocolate consumption in Parkinson's disease (PD). The cacao ingredient contains caffeine analogues and biogenic amines, such as β-phenylethylamine, with assumed antiparkinsonian effects. We thus tested the effects of 200 g of chocolate containing 80 % of cacao on UPDRS motor score after 1 and 3 h in 26 subjects with moderate non-fluctuating PD in a mono-center, single-dose, investigator-blinded crossover study using cacao-free white chocolate as placebo comparator. At 1 h after chocolate intake, mean UPDRS motor scores were mildly decreased compared to baseline in both treatments with significant results only for dark chocolate [-1.3 (95 % CI 0.18-2.52, RMANOVA F = 4.783, p = 0.013¸ Bonferroni p = 0.021 for 1 h values)]. A 2 × 2-cross-over analysis revealed no significant differences between both treatments [-0.54 ± 0.47 (95 % CI -1.50 to 0.42), p = 0.258]. Similar results were obtained at 3 h after intake. β-phenylethylamine blood levels were unaltered. Together, chocolate did not show significant improvement over white cacao-free chocolate in PD motor function.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Neurology, Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wolz
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schleiffer
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Klingelhöfer
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Proft
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schwanebeck
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reichmann
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riederer
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Storch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002099:Cacao; D002182:Candy; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012108:Research Personnel; D016037:Single-Blind Method