New Promise For Parkinson's

MEDICATION

Parkinson's disease (PD), which causes tremors and erratic body
movements for the nearly million Americans--like Michael J. Fox and Janet
Reno--who suffer from it, remains incurable. Levodopa (L-Dopa), the
primary drug used to curb symptoms, loses effectiveness and even causes
motor problems over time. But a new study highlights a second drug that
is side effect-free.

The drug, called Requip, may be just as good as L-dopa at
controlling early PD, without causing the jerky movements (dyskinesias)
that the older drug does, according to the study, published in the New
England Journal of Medicine. Of 130 PD sufferers taking either Requip or
L-dopa for five years, those taking L-dopa were seven times more likely
to get dyskinesias than those taking Requip.

PD results from the deterioration of nerve cells that produce the
neurotransmitter dopamine, which is crucial to coordinated movement.
While L-dopa is first converted into the missing dopamine before acting
on its receptors, Requip binds directly to receptors.

"In the past, most patients started with L-dopa because it was
regarded as the most potent drug," says co-author Olivier Rascol, Ph.D.,
a neuropharmacologist at University Hospital in France. "But in the early
stages of the disease, most patients do not require the most potent drug.
They can start with Requip and save L-dopa for when Requip no longer
controls their symptoms."

PHOTO (COLOR): New England Journal of Medicine