This is in note form, but it might be of help to some people. My Mother
was on the Apomorphine trials at the Middlesex Hospital, London, under
Dr. Lees in 1990-1991. These are some personal observations, different
people will have different ideas, some of this may be dated (my
experience is 3 years old now), your mileage may vary.
- Apomorphine seemed to some people a lot of good, and others it didn't
really help. Some people took Apomorphine in conjunction with other
Levodopa preparations (Madopar, Sinemet), some (of which Mum was the
first!) took Apomorphine alone.
- The way Apomorphine was explained to me (in laymans terms) was:
"Sinemet and Madopar have to be absorbed into the bloodstream, cross
the blood/brain barrier, and then be metabolised into dopamine. This
means the "onset action" time of these drugs is much longer, and
there are these "on/off" swings.
Apomorphine acts very much like Dopamine (the chemical that PDs are
missing), but unlike Dopamine it can cross the blood/brain barrier.
This means we can inject Apomorphine straight into you and it acts
very quickly"
- Apomorphine does cause nausea, Domperidome fixes this.
- When Mum moved to Apomorphine the number of pills she took reduced, her
drug regime simplified siginificantly.
- Apomorphine was very beneficial for her, we were very glad to have the
chance to use it.
- Mum took it via a continuous infusion pump, although we also knew a
woman who took it via diabetic needles.
- It does reduce the on/off swings. You do have more control.
- It does make a bit of a mess of your skin, with the "Nodules" that appear
in old injection sites.
- Learning how to care for Mum with this wierd new drug regime was
interesting, we found it very hard to find nurses and other care workers
who understood it or were willing to be shown.
- The pump is a bit of a pain, but worth putting up with.
- Apomorphine stains everything dark green, don't get it on your clothes!
Overall, Apomorphine was pretty neat stuff. I find it strange that you
don't have it in the US. It isn't a wonder drug by any means, but it is a
useful weapon to have in your armoury in the fight against PD.
Simon Coles
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Simon Coles | [log in to unmask]
New Product Introduction Group | MS Mail ID:
Motorola RNSG | Coles-CSC016 Simon
Basingstoke, UK | Phone: +44 (256) 48415
