title: The nurse's role in clinical trials.
abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement (bradykinesia) and postural abnormalities. The cause is unknown, but the pathology shows that dopamine is profoundly reduced in the basal ganglia of patients with PD. When dopamine is replenished by the administration of levodopa, most of the symptoms of parkinsonism are reduced significantly. Levodopa is considered to be the most reliable and effective symptomatic drug treatment for keeping patients autonomous and functionally independent for as long as possible.
authors.affiliation: McGill Centre for Studies in Aging, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amyot
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Demong
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duff
mesh_terms: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002230:Carbidopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017327:Clinical Trials, Phase IV as Topic; D004338:Drug Combinations; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009732:Nursing Care; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D004338:Drug Combinations; C009265:carbidopa, levodopa drug combination; D007980:Levodopa; D002230:Carbidopa