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Murray Charters wrote: <<Also... my initial thoughts re: combination therapy were that (since entacapone is nothing without Sinemet) entacapone should ONLY be used in combination and if one pill is cheaper than two....>> If that is the case - that the new combo drug will be less expensive -- then hats off to Orion/Novartis. I truly hope it will be. But i'm afraid 7 + years of reading drug company PR, media hype about "revolutionary new treatments," adding up the always increasing costs of PD meds, and dealing with insurance companies can turn anyone into a cynic. The first question that came to my cynical mind was - when does Orion's patent for Comtan expire? When will a generic version of Comtan become available - and how will the price of the new Stalevo compare with generic versions of Comtan and levodopa? The company's advertising to doctors states that by combining the 2 meds into one pill and making it more convenient - there will be better patient "compliance". I think the major reason for noncompliance among PD patients is not being able to afford their medications. If we don't take our meds - we don't move - it's a great motivator for being "compliant." I began taking Comtan a few months ago, (after 6 years on Sinemet and later adding Requip) and it has helped in extending the effectiveness of my Sinemet dose - but it took some trial and error to find the right dosages and timing of the 3 meds. I haven't seen anything yet about how many mil. of each drug is in each Stalevo or if it will be available in different dosages. I am generally wary of combination meds. - afraid they decrease our ability to effectively balance our very individual meds schedules . PD is definitely not a "one size fits all" disease. I really hope my skepticism is unfounded, and that the addition of Stalevo as another option for Parkinson's treatments will be beneficial to many PWP .Guess i'm just disappointed that "the first new drug for Parkinson's in over three years " is essentially a repackaging of one old drug and another very old drug. Linda ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn