| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Alterations in blood–brain barrier permeability have been proposed to represent a relevant factor contributing to Parkinson’s disease progression. However, few studies have addressed this issue in patients at different stages of disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Albumin was measured in cerebrospinal fluid and serum samples obtained from 73 non-demented subjects with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease and 47 age-matched control subjects. The albumin ratio (AR) was calculated to assess blood-cerebrospinal fluid and blood–brain barrier function. The group of patients with Parkinson’s disease included 46 subjects with Hoehn-Yahr staging between 1 and 2 and 27, with a score ranging from 2.5 to 4.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Statistically significant differences in albumin ratio were found between patients with advanced disease, and both early-stage and unaffected groups. Conversely, early-phase patients did not differ from healthy subjects. Additionally, dopaminergic treatment seems to exert a possible effect on AR values<b>.</b></p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study demonstrates that possible dysfunction of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, blood–brain barrier, or both, characterize Parkinson’s disease progression. The associations between clinical scores, treatments and biochemical findings suggest a progressive impairment of barrier integrity during the course of the disease.</p>
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