Helicobacter pylori infection and motor fluctuations in patients with Parkinson's disease

To investigate whether Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection affects the clinical response to levodopa and whether its eradication could improve motor fluctuation in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Using the [(13)C] urea breath test, we monitored HP infection in 65 patients with PD and motor fluctuations of the "wearing-off" or delayed "on" types, with or without dyskinesia. We compared the clinical features and response to L-dopa between HP noninfected (n = 30) and HP infected patients (n = 35) by reviewing home diaries kept for 72 hours. Among HP infected patients, we compared the differences in L-dopa "onset" time, "on-time" duration, and scores on the motor examination section of the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS-III) during the medication "on" phase before and after HP eradication. There were no differences in the age, disease duration, Hoehn and Yahr stage, UPDRS-III score, L-dopa daily dose, and frequency of dyskinesia between HP noninfected and HP infected groups. However, L-dopa "onset" time was longer and "on-time" duration was shorter in HP infected patients than in HP noninfected patients (78.4 +/- 28.2 vs. 56.7 +/- 25.1 and 210.0 +/- 75.7 vs. 257.7 +/- 68.9 min, respectively, P < 0.05). HP eradication improved the delay L-dopa "onset" time and short "on-time" duration (to 58.1 +/- 25.6 and to 234.4 +/- 66.5 min, respectively, P < 0.05). These data demonstrated that HP infection could interfere with the absorption of L-dopa and provoke motor fluctuations. HP eradication can improve the motor fluctuations of HP infected patients with PD.