(-)-Deprenyl treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease does not affect erythrocyte catechol-O-methyl transferase activity.
(-)-Deprenyl has been increasingly used in recent years as an adjuvant with levodopa and a decarboxylase inhibitor in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The inhibition of dopa decarboxylase and monoamine oxidase B resulting from this combination suggests that there may be a counter-regulatory increase in the activity of the third main enzyme in the catabolism of levodopa, i.e. catecholamine-O-methyl transferase (COMT). The current study on 36 patients with Parkinson's disease under long-term treatment with levodopa/dopadecarboxylase inhibitor showed, however, that the erythrocyte-COMT was unaffected by additional (-)-deprenyl medication. The patients in this study received levodopa and benserazide either with (-)-deprenyl (n = 21) or without (-)-deprenyl (n = 15). When allowance was made for the different genotypes, COMTLL, COMTLH, and COMTHH, there were no differences in the enzyme activities between the two treatment groups and the untreated controls (n = 26). On the basis of these results, consideration is given to the conditions in which COMT inhibitors are likely to be of value in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Russ
H
H
Department of Neurology, St. Josef Hospital, University of Bochum, Federal Republic of Germany.
Gerlach
M
M
Dettner
O
O
Kuhn
W
W
Przuntek
H
H
D000368:Aged; D001545:Benserazide / Q000494:pharmacology; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D007980:Levodopa / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology*; D012642:Selegiline / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D012642:Selegiline; D007980:Levodopa; D001545:Benserazide; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase