BACKGROUND Levodopa-related motor complications can be an important source of disability for patients with advanced Parkinson disease. Current evidence suggests that these motor complications are related to the relatively short half-life of levodopa and its potential to induce pulsatile stimulation of striatal dopamine receptors. Motor complications can be diminished with a continuous infusion ...

Levodopa has been the mainstay of treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD) for more than 40 years. During this time, researchers have strived to optimize levodopa formulations to minimize side effects, enhance central nervous system (CNS) bioavailability, and achieve stable therapeutic plasma levels. Current strategies include concomitant treatment with inhibitors of dopa decarboxylase (DDC) and ...

OBJECTIVE To identify the effect of levodopa in language areas in Parkinson's disease patients. METHODS We evaluated 50 patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease, age and gender paired to 47 healthy volunteers. We selected two homogeneous groups of 18 patients taking levodopa and 7 no levodopa patients. The functional magnetic resonance imaging verbal fluency task, with low and high ...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a long term disorder affects the central nervous system and we aim to determine the relative efficacy of the current available drugs used in PD. Firstly, we performed a systematic review in current literature and eligible studies were retrieved from online databases, relevant data were extracted. Efficacy of these medications was assessed by different Unified Parkins...

RATIONALE Synaptic dopamine (DA) release induced by amphetamine or other experimental manipulations can displace [ (11)C]raclopride (RAC*) from dopamine D2-like receptors. We hypothesized that exogenous levodopa might increase dopamine release at striatal synapses under some conditions but not others, allowing a more naturalistic assessment of presynaptic dopaminergic function. Presynaptic dopa...

Diurnal differences in duration and quality of motor response to levodopa are frequently described by patients. The quality and duration of motor responses were objectively assessed to morning and afternoon oral levodopa doses in five patients with Parkinsonian motor fluctuations who complained of diurnal variation in response to their normal levodopa medication. Results suggest that under cont...

OBJECTIVES To assign an accurate diagnosis to patients with dystonia based on the presence of sustained levodopa responsiveness and to determine whether motor fluctuations occur in patients with dystonia who are withheld from levodopa. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with generalized dystonia who responded to treatment in the 1970s with levodopa/carbidopa were surveyed by phone and then examine...

Levodopa continues to be the most efficacious and widely used treatment for Parkinson's disease. Levodopa dosing is understood to be critical for the optimal control of symptoms, and increasing the levodopa dose is a common method to treat advancing disease. Escalating levodopa dosages coupled with disease progression is associated with increasing likelihood of developing levodopa-induced dyski...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this report is to discuss whether or not rectal levodopa administration is useful in some situations. BACKGROUND In situations where oral intake of levodopa formulations is not possible, the treatment options of Parkinson's disease patients are limited. The literature describes no or low rectal absorption of levodopa. CASE DESCRIPTION A patient with an ileus was unable ...

Four patients with levodopa induced fluctuations in motor performance were studied during the constant intraduodenal infusion of levodopa. The results confirm that steady plasma levodopa levels with stable motor control can be achieved. However, when patients were given oral protein loads, motor performance declined despite maintenance of plasma levodopa levels. These findings suggest that comp...