The rationale for continuous dopaminergic stimulation in patients with Parkinson's disease.
Continuous dopaminergic stimulation has been shown to stabilize motor fluctuations in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) who do not respond to more conventional forms of therapy. Levodopa infusions confer immediate benefit as a direct result of maintaining steady plasma levodopa concentrations. Fluctuations of synaptic dopamine inherent in the usual oral treatment of PD might result in deleterious postsynaptic changes. Some of these presumed receptor alterations might revert as a consequence of continuous levodopa infusion.
Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick 08903-0019.
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D000818:Animals; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism; D015259:Dopamine Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004409:Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced; D006801:Humans; D007260:Infusion Pumps; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007980:Levodopa / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000473:pathology
D015259:Dopamine Agents; D007980:Levodopa