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Oxidative Stress and Neuroprotection pp 1–15Cite as

Levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease

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Part of the book series: Journal of Neural Transmission. Supplementa ((NEURALTRANS,volume 71))

Summary

Levodopa is the most efficacious drug to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is widely considered the “gold standard” by which to compare other therapies, including surgical therapy. Response to levodopa is one of the criteria for the clinical diagnosis of PD. A major limiting factor in levodopa therapy is the development of motor complications, namely dyskinesias and motor fluctuations. The ELLDOPA study was designed to determine if levodopa affected the progression of PD. This double-blind randomized study showed that the subjects treated with levodopa for 40 weeks had less severe parkinsonism than the placebo treated subjects even after a 2-week washout of medications, with the highest dose group showing the greatest benefit. Thus, levodopa may actually have neuroprotective value, but the result was not conclusive of slowing disease progression, because the same result could have arisen from a very long-lasting symptomatic benefit of levodopa.

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  1. Neurological Institute, 710 West 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    S. Fahn MD

  2. Columbia University, New York, USA

    S. Fahn MD

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  1. Institute Alfred Fessard de Neurosciences, CNRS, Gif Yvette, France

    H. Parvez

  2. Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Würzburg, Germany

    P. Riederer

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Fahn, S. (2006). Levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. In: Parvez, H., Riederer, P. (eds) Oxidative Stress and Neuroprotection. Journal of Neural Transmission. Supplementa, vol 71. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-33328-0_1

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