Piribedil therapy in Parkinson's disease. Use of the drug in the retard form.
We conducted a 20-week nonblind study to evaluate the efficacy of piribedil in 30 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Prior to the study 17 of these patients were under L-Dopa treatment alone or in combination with anticholinergics and/or amantadine, while 13 patients who had never taken L-Dopa were treated only with anticholinergics and/or amantadine, or were without any medication. Piribedil (in the retard form) was administered orally at a gradually increasing dose up to 200 mg daily, while previous antiparkinsonian medication remained unchanged. Twenty-five patients showed statistically significant improvement. Among the cardinal symptoms of parkinsonism, tremor responded the best. Depression also appeared to respond favorably. Our results indicate that piribedil may be a useful adjuvant in the treatment of PD.
Mentenopoulos
G
G
Second University Department of Neurology, AHEPA Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Katsarou
Z
Z
Bostantjopoulou
S
S
Logothetis
J
J
D000368:Aged; D004339:Drug Compounding; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010891:Piribedil / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D010879:Piperazines; D010891:Piribedil