Abstract
BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigari. Previous studies have shown that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is associated with treatment and clinical response to Parkinson's disease. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of H. pylori infection in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. METHODS: 75 patients who suffered from Parkinson's disease and H. pylori infection and 91 healthy controls were recruited. All the subjects were evaluated for serum IgM, IgG, and IgA antibodies as well as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-4 cytokines by Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA)methods. RESULTS: The participants included 102 men and 64 women with a mean age of 66±10.2 and 52.6±10.7 years in the patients and control groups, respectively. The level of IgG, TNF-α, IL-6 in the patients with Parkinson's infected with H. pylori was significantly more than that in the control group. In contrast, IgA was significantly lower in patients with Parkinson's disease compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: Probably, persistent infection with H. pylori could be effective in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease by dominating the systemic inflammatory profile. It is suggested that pro-inflammatory cytokines followed by H. pylori infection through the promotion of immune response or neurotoxicity might have a role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.