title: Body weight, levodopa pharmacokinetics and dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: We conducted a pharmacokinetic study in 164 patients with sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD) to address the relationship between body weight and levodopa pharmacokinetics. Patients underwent an oral acute levodopa test with 250 mg levodopa and pharmacokinetic variables were further assessed. Plasmatic levodopa area under the curve (AUC-l) and body weight were significantly and inversely correlated. Women were significantly lighter and more dyskinetic than men, and had greater AUC-l values. Our data suggest that during long-term treatment, lighter PD patients, especially women, may receive a greater cumulative dosage of levodopa per kilogram of body weight. This could explain gender differences for the development of levodopa-induced peak-dose dyskinesias observed during the course of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurology, University of Catanzaro, Policlinico Mater Domini, Via T. Campanella, I-88100 Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arabia
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zappia
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bosco
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Crescibene
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bagalà
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bastone
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caracciolo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scornaienghi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Quattrone
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D001835:Body Weight; D020820:Dyskinesias / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D007980:Levodopa