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On Thu, 21 Dec 1995, WILLIAM ROMANOW wrote: > HAS ANYONE ELSE FELT THAT AN EXTRA AMOUNT OF PHYSCIAL ACTIVITY SEEMS TO USE > YOU YOUR DOSE OF SINEMET SOONER, OR THAT YOUR DOSE DOES NOT SEEM TO LAST AS > LONG AS USUAL????? > Several months ago I too was interested in the relationship between physical activity ( exercise ) and my Sinemet dosage. Two research articles in the journal NEUROLOGY spoke to this issue. In October 1992 NEUROLOGY (vol 42 pp 2042-2045) J.H. Carter, et.al., in "The Effect of Exercise on Levodopa Absorption" did an abstract on their article saying: "We studied the effect of exercise using cycle ergometry on levodopa absorption in ten patients with Parkinson's disease. Oral levodopa was administered during exercise and at rest on separate days. Exercise delayed levodopa absorption infive patients, increased it in three, and did not influence it in two. We conclude that exercise can either increase or decrease levodopa absorption." They are saying that they can not predict the impact of exercise on levodopa absorption. That is what we already know, as a group we Parkinson's patients are individuals responding idiosyncratically! In May 1993 (vol 43 pp 1040-1042) NEUROLOGY, C.G. Goetz, et.al., in an article entitled "Blood Levodopa Levels and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Function:With and Without Exercise" summarized their research by saying: "We studied 10 regular exercising men with Parkinson's disease on levodopa (LD) under two conditions - no exercise and vigorous exercise started 1 hour after LD ingestion. We compared LD levels and motor scores on the United Parkinson's Rating Scale (UPDRS). There was a high degree of agreement between plasma LD level and the patient's UPDRS scores 30 minutes later ... in both conditions, with no difference between the two. We conclude that LD levels accurately reflect UPDRS motor function in these patients, and that vigorous exercise started 1 hour after LD ingestion does not influence LD or motor scores." This article concludes with the sentence, "Based on our study, we recommend that patients ingest their LD, rest quietly for 60 minutes, and then proceed withtheir regular vigorous program." -------------------- Sid Roberts 66/dx2 [log in to unmask]