ABSTRACT
Levodopa-induced onset and end-of-dose dyskinesia are rare but disabling disorders. Although they can be attenuated by increasing and dividing the daily dose of levodopa, this does not constitute a therapeutic approach. In this pilot study, etybenzatropine, an anticholinergic drug, and diazepam, a selective benzodiazepine, were administered in addition to a single dose of levodopa in nine patients with Parkinson's disease. Both drugs tended to decrease the severity and the duration of onset and end-of-dose dyskinesia and to increase the duration of action of levodopa on parkinsonian symptoms.
Subject(s)
Diazepam/therapeutic use , Levodopa/adverse effects , Movement Disorders/drug therapy , Parkinson Disease/drug therapy , Tropanes/therapeutic use , Humans , Levodopa/therapeutic use , Middle Aged , Movement Disorders/chemically induced , Pilot ProjectsABSTRACT
Seventy parkinsonian patients (mean age: 59.6 +/- 1.2 years; duration of disease: 9 +/- 0.6 years) with severe fluctuations of disability under L-Dopa treatment received a single dose of L-Dopa (200 mg + benserazide, a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor) after 24-72 h interruption of treatment. The delay and duration of action of a single dose of L-Dopa, and the percentage of improvement of the parkinsonian symptoms were 39 +/- 2 and 162 +/- 6 minutes, and 57 +/- 2 p. 100 respectively. Estimation of the difference between the basal parkinsonian score and the score during maximum clinical improvement under levodopa treatment, and the score under levodopa treatment may reflect the severity of dopaminergic and of non dopaminergic lesions in the brain respectively. Modification of the treatment to obtain continuous clinical improvement can be performed according to the delay and duration of action of a single dose of L-Dopa.
