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New research suggests that the hepatitis B and C viruses may be linked to an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease.
“Two earlier studies carried out in Taiwan found an increased risk of developing PD after hepatitis C but not hepatitis B.” (Medscape)
Carried out by a team from the University of Oxford, U.K., the study looked at hospital records from a large British database, including records of nearly 22,000 people with hepatitis B, 48,000 with hepatitis C, 6,000 with autoimmune hepatitis, 4,000 with chronic active hepatitis and nearly 20,000 with HIV.
These people were then compared to the hospital records of 6 million people with relatively minor conditions such as cataract surgery and knee replacement surgery.
The results showed that those with hepatitis B were 76 per cent more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those in the comparison group, with a total of 44 people with hepatitis B later developing Parkinson’s disease, compared to 25 cases that would be expected in the general population.
People with hepatitis C were 51 per cent more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, with 73 people developing disease, whereas around 49 cases would have been expected in the general population.
People with autoimmune hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis and HIV did not show an increased rate of Parkinson’s disease.
The authors concluded: “We report strong evidence in favor of an elevation of rates of subsequent PD in patients with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. These findings may be explained by factors peculiar to viral hepatitis, but whether it reflects consequences of infection, shared disease mechanisms, or the result of antiviral treatment remains to be elucidated. Further work is needed to confirm this association and to investigate pathophysiologic pathways, potentially advancing etiologic understanding of PD more broadly.”
See also a review of the study in Medscape: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/877926