Electronic ISSN 2287-0237

VOLUME

OPTIMAL TREATMENT IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE: PHARMACOTHERAPY AND PRACTICAL TIPS

SEPTEMBER 2015 - VOL.10 | REVIEWS ARTICLE

Parkinson’s disease, a common neurodegenerative disorder, is treatable. The current treatment strategy is focused on dopamine replacement. Every patient will eventually receive levodopa which is the gold standard therapy, but it is associated with motor complication in a later phase. Using other dopaminergic medications as the first line treatment to avoid levodopa usage may reduce motor complication, but they are less efficacious in symptomatic control. However, in the later stage of the disease, patients often need other medications to optimize dopaminergic transmission. Dopamine agonist (DA), monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAO-BI) and catechol-o-methyl-transferase inhibitors (COMTI) are standard adjunctive medications in patients who have levodopa- induced motor complication.

Keywords

Parkinson’s disease, levodopa, dopamine agonist, motor complication

DOI:

10.31524/bkkmedj.2015.09.012

MEDIA
Figure 1: Levodopa pathway and dopaminergic medications.
Table 1: Pharmacology of dopamine agonist.
Table 2: Dosing guideline for switching DA.
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