Selegiline and levodopa in early or moderately advanced Parkinson's disease: a double-blind controlled short- and long-term study.
Selegiline 10 mg per day was compared to placebo as an adjunct to levodopa treatment in this double-blind study of early or moderately advanced Parkinson's disease. Thirty-eight patients completed an initial cross-over trial comprising two treatment periods, each of eight weeks, with a four weeks' wash-out period between them. Thirty of the patients continued in a long-term, double-blind parallel trial with a mean duration of 16 months (range 6-30 months). Selegiline treatment allowed a significant reduction of the necessary daily levodopa dose in both parts of the study and of the daily dosing frequency in the long-term investigation. In spite of this reduction of levodopa dose, an improvement was noted in tremor during the short-term selegiline periods. The side-effects were slight and related to dopamine effects and disappeared after reduction of levodopa-dose. The results support the use of selegiline as an early adjunctive treatment in Parkinson's disease.
Sivertsen
B
B
Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Dupont
E
E
Mikkelsen
B
B
Mogensen
P
P
Rasmussen
C
C
Boesen
F
F
Heinonen
E
E
D000368:Aged; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010627:Phenethylamines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012642:Selegiline / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D010627:Phenethylamines; D012642:Selegiline; D007980:Levodopa