The Clinical Syndrome of Striatal Dopamine Deficiency: Parkinsonism Induced by MPTP

Abstract

To the Editor: The suggestion has been made in the Journal ¹ and elsewhere² that a neurotoxin such as 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) may be the cause of Parkinson's disease. However, Burns et al. (May 30 issue)³ find that differences in central noradrenergic activity distinguish MPTP-induced parkinsonism from Parkinson's disease. We think it is important for those responsible for the direction of research on Parkinson's disease to be aware of several additional observations suggesting that MPTP is not the cause of the disease.The first and most telling observation concerns the uniform distribution and relatively stable occurrence of this disease over a period . . .