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Further to some recent messages that dealt with the dosing regime for Comtan (once a day v. with every dose of Sinemet), consider the following: "The plasma elimination half-life of [entacapone] is 1.5 to 3.5 hours." -- Statement quoted from RIVEST J et al. COMT inhibitors in Parkinson’s disease. Can J Neurol Sci 1999; Suppl 2, Aug 1999: S34-S38 -- apparently based on NUTT JG et al. in Neurology 1994; 44:913-919. Similar information comes from KERANEN T et al [in Eur J Clin Pharmacol 1994;46(2):151-7], as follows: "... an open study in 12 healthy young male volunteers ... Entacapone was rapidly eliminated by metabolism with a half-life of 0.27-0.30 h after oral doses of 5 to 50 mg. After doses from 100 to 800 mg the disposition was best described by two phases with a t1/2 alpha of 0.27-0.37 h and t1/2 beta of 1.59-3.44 h." To me this suggests that, in general, a person taking Comtan once daily would have the benefit of the drug for part - but not all - of the day. Ben Winter Victoria BC Canada