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Treatment of parkinsonism by amantadine and levodopa
Author(s) -
Mawdsley C.,
Williams I. R.,
Pullar I. A.,
Davidson D. L.,
Kinloch N. E.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1002/cpt1972134575
Subject(s) - amantadine , homovanillic acid , parkinsonism , levodopa , crossover study , medicine , cerebrospinal fluid , anesthesia , pharmacology , parkinson's disease , placebo , serotonin , disease , pathology , receptor , alternative medicine
The results of treatment in 83 parkinsonian patients are reviewed. Forty‐two patients were included in a double‐blind, crossover trial of amantadine. Forty of these patients, together with 41 others, had been treated with levodopa for at least 3 months. Seven had been treated for 2 years and 22 for more than 1 year. Results of treatment with the 2 drugs are compared. Subnormal levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) homovanillic acid were found in 22 of these patients. Amantadine produced no significant change in CSF homovanillic acid concentrations. The administration of levodopa resulted in increased CSF levels of homovanillic acid. It is concluded that amantadine produces rapidly discernible but mediocre and ill‐sustained improvement in parkinsonism. Its administration infrequently produces side effects which are rarely bothersome. Amantadine's benefits are much less striking than those produced by levodopa whose efficacy is maintained over long periods. The modes of action of these drugs remain undefined.