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At 09:54 9-5-99 -0400, Walter Pfiester wrote: >I tried this as an experiment. I broke Sinemet 50/200 into two >pieces. It doesn't work, just results in OFF periods that are >twice as long! > >Walt W2TQK 57/4 ><mailto:[log in to unmask]> > > >| -----Original Message----- >| From: Parkinson's Information Exchange >| [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of kathrynsaupp >| Sent: Saturday, May 08, 1999 10:43 AM >| To: [log in to unmask] >| Subject: Sinemet CR >| >| >| If you break a 50/20 Sinemet CR in half is it half as strong (25/100) or >| does it last half as long? WALT It is basical rule that taking twice as much dopamine makes its effect twice as strong and not twice as long. But in practice its effect is longer though not twice as long. The exact effects don't depend only on the amount, but also on the phase of the illness. A patient whose reactions are of the "on-off" kind, a certain level of levadopa is necessary to get any effect at all. You didn't reach that level with half pills. If you had done another experiment by taking twice as much as your normal dose, the most probable effect had been that you had indeed a longer on period, but not twice as long. When we take a dose there will be a building up of the leva-dopa level in our brain followed by a coming down again of this level. The time that theses both processes take is not dependent on the amount and will take if other conditions are the same, always the same amount of time. However it is easy to understand visualizing both curves, that with a higher dose the total time in which the curve is above the critical value that determines on or off, is longer. Next to that unplaesant side-effects will tend to be heavier in the second condition. Ida -------------------------------------------------------------- Vriendelijke Groeten / Kind regards, Ida Kamphuis mailto: [log in to unmask]