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Has there been any further information on the questionnaire referred to in this article? If so would please forward it to me. Thanks, Tom ----- Original Message ----- From: "Murray Charters" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 4:57 PM Subject: ARTICLE: Checklist Pinpoints When Parkinson's Drugs Wear Off > Checklist Pinpoints When Parkinson's Drugs Wear Off > 2004-02-04 > > Doctors may be able to improve long-term outcomes by lessening symptom fluctuations > > A new questionnaire tells doctors when medication is wearing off in people with Parkinson's disease -- and may help > them improve long-term outcomes. > > The disease's characteristic tremor and difficulty with walking, movement and co-ordination are caused by a shortage of > dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain. One of the main treatments is the drug levodopa, which is converted to > dopamine in the body. > > But within the first few years of treatment, people receiving levodopa or other anti-Parkinson's drugs begin to notice > their medication lasts for shorter periods, causing symptoms to re-emerge before the next dose. > > It is important for doctors to recognize this, because there are new medications that can help improve symptom control > throughout more of the day, says Dr. Robert Hauser, a professor of neurology at the University of South Florida in > Tampa. > > Hauser helped develop a simple checklist of 32 wearing-off symptoms that Parkinson's patients can fill out themselves. > > In a study involving 289 patients with the disease, the questionnaire detected wearing-off symptoms twice as often as > an assessment by a specialist. > > While the standard clinical assessment identified wearing off in 85 patients (29 per cent), 165 patients (57 per cent) > reported wearing off on the questionnaire. When asked about the difficulties associated with these symptoms, 37 per > cent categorized them as "very troublesome." > > While the questionnaire's ability to improve outcomes remains to be tested, Hauser says detecting wearing-off symptoms > earlier could be helpful. > > "It's thought these fluctuations (wearing-off symptoms) mostly come first, and then later on down the road patients get > the twisting and turning that we call dyskinesia as a result of the fluctuating dopamine stimulation in the brain," he > says. "So, it's possible that if we could identify them earlier and treat them, perhaps long-term outcomes might be > better by avoiding those clinical fluctuations." > > Doctors may be able to smooth out the fluctuations by changing the dosing of the levodopa or combining it with other > drugs, such as entacapone. > > Levodopa is also taken with carbidopa, which reduces its side-effects and improves its effectiveness. > > SOURCE: The Medical Posting, Canada > http://tinyurl.com/33wlp > > * * * > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn