Summary
Intravenous or oral application of L-Dopa increased not only the plasma level but led at the same time to an improvement of the kinetic behaviour. A combined intravenous or oral administration of L-Dopa and the decarboxylase inhibitor Ro 4-4602 stop the damage of this peripheral L-Dopa-metabolism for the most part and therefore a higher L-Dopa-plasma-level is reached and the increase lasts longer.
A reduction of L-Dopa dosages is the clinical result. A potentiation of clinical and biochemical effects we found in three of ten failures after a medication of L-Dopa plus amantadine-sulfate-infusion. Two of the ten failures showed a clinical deterioration and also diminished L-Dopa-plasma levels after L-Dopa plus amantadine-sulfate-infusions; five of ten failures demonstrated no change in the plasma level after application of amantadine-sulfate-infusions plus L-Dopa.
For producing kinetic effects a sufficient availability of L-Dopa in plasma is necessary and a sufficient utilization in the brain has to be. In cases of akinetic crisis a combined infusion of L-Dopa plus amantadine-sulfate is a vital indication.
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Birkmayer, W., Danielcyk, W., Neumayer, E. et al. L-dopa level in plasma, primary condition for the kinetic effect. J. Neural Transmission 34, 133–143 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01244666
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01244666