Link found between Parkinson’s disease, melanoma

Source: Healio.com/dermatology, February 2016

There is a link between Parkinson’s disease and melanoma, with possible etiologies including family history and common genetic susceptibility, according to recently published study results.

“Given that [levodopa] is a substrate in melanin synthesis, there existed a concern that this therapy [for Parkinson’s disease] might cause melanoma,” researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, wrote.

The researchers conducted a literature search of PubMed and Google Scholar to identify possible etiological links explaining the connection between Parkinson’s disease (PD) and melanoma. Search terms included “Parkinson’s disease, Parkinson’s, melanoma, melanoma + Parkinson’s disease, alpha-synuclein and melanoma” and other combinations of those words.