title: Continuous infusion of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Evaluation of: Olanow CW, Kieburtz K, Odin P et al. Continuous intrajejunal infusion of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease: a randomised, controlled, double-blind, double-dummy study. Lancet Neurol. 13(2), 141-149 (2014). Levodopa-induced motor complications, including motor fluctuations and dyskinesia, can be a major source of disability for Parkinson's disease patients. The development of levodopa-induced motor complications has been attributed to the pulsatile dopaminergic stimulation characteristic of conventional oral levodopa regimens. This is a review of a 12-week, randomized, controlled, double-blind, double-dummy study of continuous jejunal infusion of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel to determine if the continuous infusion of levodopa reduces motor complications in Parkinson's disease. Results demonstrated that levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel significantly reduced off-time without increasing troublesome dyskinesia compared with standard oral levodopa therapy. Adverse effects were common in both the levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel and placebo groups and were related primarily to the infusion hardware.
authors.affiliation: UTMB Health, 301 University Blvd, Route 0539, Galveston, TX 77555-0539, USA.
authors.forename: Lalitha N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Guthikonda
authors.forename: Kelly E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pahwa
mesh_terms: D002230:Carbidopa / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D007980:Levodopa; D002230:Carbidopa
keywords: LCIG; Parkinson’s disease; continuous drug infusion; dyskinesia; levodopa–carbidopa intestinal gel; motor fluctuations