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ERVIN J MCCARTHY wrote: > > Can anyone give me and explanation for the different designations of > Sinemet. > I see all kinds of different figures like, 25/100, 30/100, 50/100, and all > kinds of other numbers. I guess I'm still confused. Thanks in advance for > the help. Sinemet is the brand name for a combination of carbidopa and levodopa. Madopar is similar in the UK except it has benserazide instead of carbidopa. The additive in either is to prevent the levodopa (the part useful against PD) from converting to dopamine before it reaches the brain. Dopamine can't pass the blood-brain barrier, levodopa can, so any that is converted prematurely is essentially wasted. But some is useful outside the brain as well, so prescribing doctors are given a choice of ratios. Sinemet 25/100 means 25mg carbidopa plus 100mg levodopa. For less carbidopa, there is Sinemet 10/100. And so on. Too much dopamine outside the brain, by the way, makes nearly all patients nauseous. Sinemet, which avoids that, is named from the Latin phrase for "no vomiting". Cheers, Joe -- J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694 3527 Cody Road Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-5013