Functional neurosurgery has afforded the opportunity to assess interactions between populations of neurons in the human cerebral cortex and basal ganglia in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Interactions occur over a wide range of frequencies, and the functional significance of those >30 Hz is particularly unclear. Do they improve movement, and, if so, in what way? We acquired simultaneou...

OBJECTIVE Recently described nonmotor fluctuations may cause disability in Parkinson's disease patients. These fluctuations are generally grouped as sensory, autonomic and psychiatric. The clinical spectrum and frequency of these fluctuating symptoms are not well-described. METHODS We studied the relationship of nonmotor fluctuations with motor symptoms and determined the influence of age at ...

ackground: Dopamine agonists and antagonists can reduce abnormal movements and vocalizations (tics) in Tourette syndrome TS); however, dopamine-responsive abnormal function in specific brain regions has not been directly demonstrated in TS. We sought o identify dopamine-modulated brain regions that function abnormally in TS by combining functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI), a working mem...

Levodopa effectively improves motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. However, the beneficial effects of levodopa often erode over time with the emergence of response fluctuations. Although these response changes have been recognized from the early levodopa era, their mechanisms remain poorly understood. We investigated the role of dopamine (DA) terminal loss in the development of motor fluctuat...

In 1993, the last AAN Practice Parameter on medical treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) concluded that levodopa was the most effective drug for management of this disorder. Since then, a number of new compounds including non-ergot dopamine agonists (DA) and sustained-release levodopa have been released and studied. Thus, the issue of treatment in de novo PD patients warrants reexamination. Sp...

In 1993, the last AAN Practice Parameter on medical treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) concluded that levodopa was the most effective drug for management of this disorder. Since then, a number of new compounds including non-ergot dopamine agonists (DA) and sustained-release levodopa have been released and studied. Thus, the issue of treatment in de novo PD patients warrants reexamination. Sp...

We investigated the role of dopamine neurons in the manifestation of levodopa-induced dyskinesia in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. Daily treatment with a subthreshold dose of levodopa gradually induced abnormal involuntary movements (AIM) in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats, which included stereotypy and contraversive rotation. After 4 weeks of levodopa treatment, rats with mild and severe ...

AIMS Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) provides continuous levodopa-carbidopa delivery through intrajejunal infusion. This study characterized the population pharmacokinetics of levodopa following a 16 h jejunal infusion of LCIG or frequent oral administration of levodopa-carbidopa tablets (LC-oral) in subjects with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS A non-linear mixed-effects ...

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of entacapone, a specific peripherally acting catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor used in combination with levodopa treatment, in cases of Parkinson's disease with both fluctuating and non-fluctuating response to treatment. METHODS A randomised, placebo controlled, double blind, six month study was undertaken in 172 fluctuating and 128 non-fluctuating p...

Abstract: Purpose: The present work evaluated the neuroprotective potential of embelin either alone and in combination with Levodopa rotenone induced PD (Parkinson’s disease) model mice. Methods: Swiss albino male adult mice were randomly divided into 7 groups. Group-1 (Control) received 2mL/kg olive oil by oral route (p.o.), Groups from 2 to 2.5mg/kg intraperitoneal (i.p.), levodopa was admini...