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>Gail Harrison wrote: > >> I am writing to see if anyone else has experienced what my father has. He was >> diagnosed with PD about 3 or 4 years ago. He has taken- Sinemet, Permax, >> Primidone, and a few other combinations of drugs throughout the past years. >> Not one single drug or combination of drugs has alleviated any of the symptoms >> of his PD. I suggested that he see another doctor, and he went to a clinic in >> Rochester, NY. They said he has PD, and tried him on Primidone, and no >> change. He is only 56. Has anyone else experienced this? Have any >> suggestions? Thank-you for your time!!! > >Could not it be a PD+ disease? I read that it's sometimes very easy to confuse >e.g. PD with PSP. >Jean-Loup >[log in to unmask] You mention that your father has been diagnosed as having PD, and yet not responding to Sinemet. What are his symptoms? Has he been evaluated by a Movement Specialist, and/or was there a second opinion sought? You are correct in searching for answers, and you are certainly in the right place to find help. I would recommend your checking out our listserv archives. Send a search requests to John Cottingham, [log in to unmask] Subject: Archive Search In the body of the message put the word or words you want to search the archive for, for example, essential tremor, PSP, etc.. Searching the internet will yield hundreds, if not thousands, of relevant pieces of information. You can use any search engine, like http://www.yahoo.com. And you should visit the site: http://neuro-chief-e.mgh.harvard.edu/parkinsonsweb/Main/PDmain.html, it is quite comprehensive. Checking a couple of sources for information on primidone, Mysoline (R), I found that it is primarily an anticonvulsant, although reference is made to its use in bening, familial tremor. I did not find references to its use in PD. The following is from Clinical Pharmacology: Description: Primidone is an anticonvulsant drug that is structurally related to phenobarbital. Primidone is metabolized to phenobarbital and therefore shares its anticonvulsant and sedative properties. Primidone may be more effective than therapy with phenobarbital alone because primidone and both of its metabolites, phenobarbital and phenylmethylmalonamide (PEMA), possess anticonvulsant activity. Primidone is effective in all types of seizure disorders except absence seizures. Primidone may be used alone, in sub-hypnotic doses, or in combination with other anticonvulsants. Primidone was introduced as an anticonvulsant in 1952, and it was approved by the FDA in 1954. This abstract was cited on a search done on yahoo: Sasso E, Perucca E, Fava R, Calzetti S: QUANTITATIVE COMPARISON OF BARBITURATES IN ESSENTIAL HAND AND HEAD TREMOR. Movement Disorders 1991; 6(1):65-8. Summary: The tremorolytic effects of primidone and phenobarbital in essential tremor of hands and head were compared in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Quantitative measurements of tremor were obtained in 15 patients by means of an accelerometric method. Only primidone proved to be superior to placebo in reducing hand tremor, suggesting that its tremorolytic effectiveness is largely dependent on the parent drug rather than its metabolite phenobarbital. Head tremor tended to improve only in three out of six patients with both primidone and phenobarbital, but, likely due to the small number of affected patients, the effect failed to reach statistical significance. Good luck in search for answers, Margaret Margaret Tuchman (55yrs, Dx 1980)- NJ-08540 [log in to unmask]