Correlation reveals DOPA decarboxylase levels predict cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease, suggesting a new biomarker for monitoring progression.
Background DOPA decarboxylase (DDC) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an emerging Parkinson's disease (PD) biomarker, but its association with nonmotor symptoms is unclear. Objectives We aimed to determine if baseline DDC was associated with future cognitive decline in PD. Methods We correlated baseline CSF DDC, detected using the proximity extension assay, with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score using longitudinal data from 3 cohorts: Biopark, PPMI, and PDBP. Results DDC was significantly associated with cognitive decline in both the Biopark cohort ( P ‐value < 0.0001) and the PDBP/PPMI cohorts ( P ‐value < 0.0001). The results were still significant after correcting for levodopa‐equivalent daily dose in the Biopark cohort ( P ‐value < 0.0001) and when the analysis was restricted to the de novo subjects, both in Biopark ( P ‐value: 0.0065) and PPMI ( P ‐value<0.0001) cohorts. Conclusions CSF DDC is a potential biomarker for the prediction of cognitive decline in PD patients.
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Sturchio et al. (2025) studied this question.
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