"This suggests that it may not be the drugs, it could be something else, which is why I did this study," he said. While the reasons for this association are not clear, other studies have shown that people with Parkinson's diseases are at greater risk for developing melanoma.

"They thought that levodopa increased the risk of melanoma," he explained. "For people with a family member with melanoma, they may be at risk for Parkinson's disease," said lead researcher Dr. But later reports found that people with melanoma were at high risk of developing Parkinson's disease, Gao said. The finding was released and was also expected be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting, to in Seattle. These individuals participated in the Health Professional Follow-up Study and the Nurses Health Study. "This study suggests that some genetic components for melanoma are associated with Parkinson's disease." Earlier studies had found that Parkinson's patients taking levodopa, a com treatment for the condition, were more susceptible to melanoma, Gao said. For the study, Gao's team collected data on almost 157,000 men and women who did not have Parkinson's disease. Xiang Gao, an instructor in medicine at Harvard University School of Public Health.

During 14 years of follow-up, 616 people developed Parkinson's disease.