Hypertrophy of intima media of the carotid artery due to L-dopa therapy in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Introduction: Recent studies have shown that L-dopa therapy used in patients with Parkinson's disease might cause thickening of the carotid artery intima media. It is known that intima-media thickening is a sign of systemic atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to clarify the correlation between L-dopa medication and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in patients with Parkinson's disease.