Normal activation of the supplementary motor area in patients with Parkinson's disease undergoing long-term treatment with levodopa.
Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes in cortical motor areas were measured during a movement of the dominant right hand in 15 patients with Parkinson's disease deprived of their usual levodopa treatment, in 11 patients with Parkinson's disease undergoing long-term treatment with levodopa, and in 15 normal volunteers. The supplementary motor areas were significantly activated in the normal subjects and in the patients receiving levodopa but not in the patients deprived of levodopa. The contralateral primary sensory motor area was significantly activated in all three groups. The ipsilateral primary sensory motor cortex was not activated in the normal subjects and the non-treated patients but was in the patients treated with levodopa. It is concluded that the supplementary motor area hypoactivation which is observed in akinetic non-treated patients with Parkinson's disease is not present in patients undergoing long-term treatment with levodopa. This result suggests that (a) levodopa improves the functional activity of supplementary motor areas in Parkinson's disease and (b) there is no pharmacological tolerance to this effect. The ipsilateral primary motor cortex activation observed in the patients treated with levodopa could be related to levodopa-induced abnormal involuntary movements.
Rascol
O
O
Laboratory of Medical and Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, National Institute of Health and Medical Research, Toulouse, France.
Sabatini
U
U
Chollet
F
F
Fabre
N
N
Senard
J M
JM
Montastruc
J L
JL
Celsis
P
P
Marc-Vergnes
J P
JP
Rascol
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D007980:Levodopa