title: Parkinson disease: Can a new trial end controversy over when to use levodopa?
abstract: Levodopa is the standard therapy for Parkinson disease, but prolonged use promotes the development of adverse motor effects. A new trial compared the effectiveness of levodopa administration early in the disease with therapies that used alternative dopaminergic agents before levodopa. No clinically relevant differences were found between the treatment strategies.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Investigation Centre CIC1436, Departments of Clinical Pharmacology and Neurosciences, INSERM and Toulouse University Hospital, University of Toulouse 3, Place du Docteur Baylac, TSA 40031, 31059 Toulouse CEDEX 9, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rascol
mesh_terms: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015259:Dopamine Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D015259:Dopamine Agents; D007980:Levodopa