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this raises a question or two. is the LDR measurement a measure of level of levodopa in the bloodstream? or, does it have something pertinent to functioning of the participants? ron >The long-duration response to L-dopa in the treatment of early PD. > >OBJECTIVE: To investigate the long-duration response (LDR) to L-dopa >resulting from different regimens of L-dopa. > >BACKGROUND: In clinical practice, L-dopa is usually administered >without considering the LDR due to the drug. > >Moreover, it has not been established whether in early PD a multiple >daily intake of small doses of L-dopa may induce a sustained LDR. > >METHODS: 24 patients with early PD underwent a double-blind, >crossover trial, comparing 3 different 15-day treatment periods with >L-dopa: treatment A (250 mg every 24 hours); treatment B (250 mg >every 8 hours); and treatment C (125 mg every 8 hours). > >After completion, 20 patients underwent a subsequent open-label >randomized trial with prolonged treatments (250 mg every 24 hours or >125 mg every 8 hours) up to 3 months. > >LDR was measured at the end of each treatment. > >RESULTS: All patients achieved a sustained LDR after treatments A >and B, whereas only 17% of patients reached a sustained LDR after >treatment C. > >Overall, the LDRs resulting from treatments A and B had similar >magnitude and were larger than the LDR deriving from treatment C. > >After 3 months of prolonged treatments, only three of 10 patients >treated with 125 mg every 8 hours increased their LDR, whereas all >10 patients treated with 250 mg every 24 hours had a maximal and >stable LDR. > >CONCLUSIONS: Sustained LDR to L-dopa is dependent on the amount of >the single doses of the drug. > >A regimen scheduling small, divided doses during the day, as done in >clinical practice, is a questionable therapy for the achievement of >a sustained LDR. > > >Neurology 2000 May 23;54(10):1910-5 >Zappia M, Oliveri RL, Bosco D, Nicoletti G, Branca D, >Caracciolo M, Napoli ID, Gambardella A, Quattrone A >Institute of Neurology, University of Catanzaro, Italy. >PMID: 10822428, UI: 20284127 > >janet paterson >53 now / 41 dx / 37 onset >613 256 8340 / PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada >visit my website "a new voice" at: "http://www.geocities.com/janet313/" -- Ron Vetter 1936, '84 PD dz mailto:[log in to unmask] http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/~rfvetter