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. Do fava beans, a natural source of levodopa for parkinsonian patients, restore dopaminergic transmission? BP Bejjani, R Rahme, M Jabr P0669 Fava beans (Vicia faba) provide a source of levodopa that equals the effectiveness of commercial preparations for amelioration of parkinsonian symptoms, according to this report. After an overnight drug washout, 5 patients with advanced PD received either their standard levodopa dose plus 50 mg, or boiled fava beans, followed by crossover treatment within one week. Fava bean dose was calculated based on a 125 mg levodopa:120 g bean. UPDRS motor scores, recorded every 15 minutes for 4 hours and rated by a blinded investigator, indicated equivalence between the two treatments in terms of reduction in score and induction of dyskinesias. Latency to onset and duration of effect of fava beans was variable among patients, but with no group difference between beans and levodopa. Funding for E-MOVE meeting reports is provided in part by unrestricted educational grants from Allergan Inc., Elan Pharmaceuticals, and Pharmacia Corporation. Copyright 2000 WE MOVE Editor: Richard Robinson ([log in to unmask]) This service is provided free of charge to the Internet community, courtesy of WEMOVE.org. This document may be freely redistributed by email only in its unedited form. We encourage you to share it with your colleagues. E-MOVE archives, plus information on subscribing, are available at http://www.wemove.org/emove. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to [log in to unmask], with "unsubscribe e-move" in the message body. E-MOVE is a service of WE MOVE (Worldwide Education and Awareness for Movement Disorders) 204 West 84th Street New York, NY 10024 TEL 800-437-MOV2 TEL 212-875-8312 FAX 212-875-8389 http://www.wemove.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn