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> Data from a mix of employer- and government-funded health plans were used to investigate actual treatment patterns for patients initiating pharmacotherapy for Parkinson's disease in the United States. Treatment patterns evaluated included type of initial therapy and rates and types of adjunctive and substitute therapies. The study confirms that levodopa remains the most often prescribed initial treatment for Parkinson's disease regardless of age or drug benefit coverage. The widespread use of levodopa in young Parkinson's patients (<65 years) with private insurance may indicate that physicians are not overly concerned about or are not fully aware of the association of levodopa with long-term motor complications. It may also indicate that currently available alternatives to levodopa are not sufficiently effective or well tolerated. > > J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2006 Jun;19(2):91-7. > > > Patterns of initial pharmacotherapy for Parkinson's disease in the United States. > > Huse DM, Castelli-Haley J, Orsini LS, Lenhart G, Abdalla JA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn