Complications of chronic levodopa therapy: long-term efficacy of drug holiday.
Chronic use of levodopa may be complicated by dyskinesias, on-off effect, or hallucinosis. Transient levodopa withdrawal (drug holiday) may increase motor responsiveness and decrease levodopa-induced side effects, and the improved state may persist for as long as 9 months. After 1 year, parkinsonian signs approached pre-holiday levels, and two of the patients required a second drug holiday; side effects began to reappear 9 to 12 months after the holiday. Four of six patients with psychiatric complications remained free of hallucinations for the entire year.
D000368:Aged; D004409:Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000209:etiology*
D007980:Levodopa