There are two major causes of disability in patients with Parkinson disease: motor fluctuations that occur when a dose of levodopa becomes ineffective, leading to a "wearing off," and hyperkinetic movements (dyskinesias) caused by excessive levels of dopamine. The utility of continuous levodopa treatment is therefore limited by motor complications. Pharmacologic options to treat wearing off inc...

Ten patients with Parkinson's disease and levodopa induced dyskinesias (LIDs) took part in this randomised, placebo controlled, double blind, crossover trial to assess the efficacy and tolerability of high dose oral naltrexone for LIDs in Parkinson's disease. Patients received naltrexone (5 mg/kg/day) or placebo for 2.5 weeks with 1 week wash out in between. Dyskinesias and motor function were ...

Loss of dopamine neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD) initiates a complex stream of effects that results in the development of tremor, bradykinesia, and rigidity. While levodopa remains the most effective drug for the symptomatic treatment of PD, its chronic administration is associated with the development of motor fluctuations and dyskinesias. The risk of developing motor fluctuations has been...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine repeated measures of fine motor function in relation to self-assessed motor conditions in Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS One-hundred PD patients, 65 with advanced PD and 35 patients with different disease stages have utilized a test battery in a telemedicine setting. On each test occasion, they initially self-assessed their motor condition...

Parkinson’s disease (PD), resulting from the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia, is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that impairs voluntary movement. Currently, the standard treatment for PD aims to replace dopamine via L-DOPA administration. However, this treatment often causes equally debilitating symptoms, termed dyskinesias. cGMP, a messenger molecule that plays a role...