Causes of death need confirmation

EDITOR,—After 5.4 years of follow up the Parkinson's Disease Research Group reports a significantly higher mortality in patients with early, mild Parkinson's disease given levodopa plus selegiline (arm 2) than in those given levodopa alone (arm 1). Although the causes of the 60% increased mortality “remain to be elucidated,” the group concludes that the data “cast doubts on the chronic use of selegiline.”1 This conclusion seems conjectural.

Firstly, the suggested deleterious effects of selegiline on the cardiovascular system are disproved by …