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Selected Articles: May 27 - June 23, 1997 Tolcapone (Tasmar, Hoffman-La Roche) has reached approvable status at FDA, which generally precedes final approval by a few weeks. The agent is the first of a new class of agents, COMT inhibitors, used with levodopa for Parkinson's disease. These agents inhibit catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an enzyme in the blood that metabolizes levodopa before it reaches the brain. Clinical studies showed that early-stage, nonfluctuating patients had improved activities of daily living while on tolcapone, while late-stage, fluctuating patients had a 20-30% increase in on-time each day. The most common side effect of tolcapone was dyskinesias, and other adverse effects included diarrhea, nausea, sleep disorders, and anorexia. http://www.pharminfo.com/pubs/pnn/pnn11.html#7a ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [log in to unmask]