Summary
We have investigated whether the potential benefits of a controlled release formulation of levodopa (200 mg)/carbidopa (50 mg), Sinemet CR, are realised during maintenance therapy.
Eight sufferers from idiopathic Parkinsonism, mean age 69.9 y, were studied: all exhibited “end of dose” effect within 4 h of a dose of their maintenance therapy with levodopa (100 mg)/carbidopa (25 mg) in a conventional release formulation, Sinemet Plus. They received, in random order, initial single dose challenges with one tablet of Sinemet Plus, one and two tablets of Sinemet CR and placebo alone, each on a separate day. After a mean of 21 weeks on maintenance therapy with Sinemet CR, subsequent single dose challenges with Sinemet CR and placebo were made. Objective measures of performance and blood sampling for assay of plasma concentrations of levodopa and the major peripheral metabolite, 3-0-methyldopa (30MD) were carried out immediately before (10.00 h) and serially until 6 h after each challenge.
The overall mean stride length was significantly greater in relation to the subsequent (679 mm) than the initial (517 mm) placebo challenge. Moreover, stride length immediately before the challenges was significantly greater on the subsequent occasions. Improved performance, also seen for free walking speed, was not explained by plasma levodopa or 30MD concentrations.
In the initial challenges, the mean increment in stride length achieved by active treatment, as compared with placebo, did not differ significantly between the one (210 mm) and two (235 mm) tablet doses of Sinemet CR: a maximal response had been obtained. The increment over placebo values following two active tablets did not differ significantly between initial and subsequent (192 mm) challenges. However, the increment produced by one active tablet in the subsequent (79 mm) challenge was significantly less than that produced by two, and than that which had been produced by one tablet in the initial challenge. Findings for free coalting speed mirrored those for stride length. These differences could, in part, be accounted for by attenuation of the effect of levodopa by 30MD.
The improvement in baseline performance, in relation to the subsequent challenges, possibly resulted from striatal dopamine stores being more replete during maintenance therapy with the controlled release formulation. It was seen despite evidence of tolerance to an acute challenge with the lower dose.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Nutt JG, Woodward WR, Hammerstad JP, Carter JH, Anderson JL (1984) The “on-off” phenomenon in Parkinson's disease. N Engl J Med 310: 483–488
Nutt JG, Woodward WR (1986) Levodopa pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in fluctuating Parkinsonian patients. Neurology 36:739–744
Shoulson I, Glaubiger GA, Chase TN (1975) On-off response. Clinical and biochemical correlations during oral and intravenous administration in Parkinsonian patients. Neurology 25: 1144–1148
Quinn NP (1984) Control of on/off phenomenon by continuous intravenous infusion of levodopa. Neurology 34:1131–1136
Nutt JG (1987) On-off phenomenon: relation to levodopa pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Ann Neurol 22: 535–540
Yeh KC, August TF, Bush DF, Lasseter KC, Musson DG, Schwartz S, Smith ME, Titus DC (1989) Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of Sinemet CR: a summary of human studies. Neurology 39 [Suppl 2]: 25–38
Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (1989) In: Munsat TL (ed) Quantification of neurologic deficit. Butterworth, Stoneham, pp 302–307
Leeman AL, O'Neill CJA, Nicholson PW, Deshmukh AA, Denham MJ, Royston JD, Dobbs RJ, Dobbs SM (1987) Parkinson's disease in the elderly: response to and optimal spacing of nighttime dosing with levodopa. Br J Clin Pharmacol 24: 637–643
Weller C, Dobbs RJ, Tate MA, Telford A, Klenerman L (1989) Biotelemetry X. Monitoring gait characteristics in orthopaedic and neurological patients by infra-red telemetry. In: Amlaner CJ (ed) Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on Biotelemetry. The University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville London, pp 575–580
Bowes SG, Clark PK, Leeman AL, O'Neill CJA, Weller C, Nicholson PW Deshmukh AA, Dobbs SM, Dobbs RJ (1990) Determinants of gait in the elderly Parkinsonian on maintenance levodopa-carbidopa therapy. Br J Clin Pharmacol 30:13–24
Weller C, Bowes SG, Kirk CAA, Nicholson PW Dobbs RJ, Dobbs SM (1991) Measurement of axial rotation: its relevance to screening for night-time hypokinesia in old age and Parkinsonism. Age Ageing 20:3–7
Hughes RJ, Bowes SG, Leeman AL, O'Neill CJA, Deshmukh AA, Nicholson PW Dobbs SM, Dobbs RJ (1990) Parkinsonian abnormality in foot strike: a phenomenon of ageing and/or one responsive to levodopa therapy? Br J Clin Pharmacol 29:179–186
GLIM (1986) Release 3.77. In: Payne CD (ed) Generalised linear interactive modelling. Numerical Algorithms Group Ltd, Oxford
McCullagh PP, Nelder JA (1989) Generalised linear models. Chapman and Hall, London
Abeyasekera S, Curnow RN (1984) The desirability of adjusting for residual effects in a crossover design. Biometrics 40:1071–1078
Royston JP (1982) An extension of Shapiro and Wilk's W test for normality to large samples. Appl Statist 31:115–125
Schweder T (1981) A simple test for a set of sums of squares. Appl Statist 31:115–125
Frith CD, Bloxham CA, Carpenter KN (1986) Impairments in the learning and performance of a new manual skill in patients with Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 49: 661–668
Bowes SG, Clark PK, Charlett A, O'Neill CJA, Leeman AL, Weller C, Nicholson PW Deshmukh AA, Dobbs SM, Dobbs RJ (1991) Objective outcome criteria in trials of anti-Parkinsonian therapy in the elderly: sensitivity, specificity and reliability of measures of brady- and hypo-kinesia. Br J Clin Pharmacol 31: 295–304
O'Neill CJA, Charlett A, Dobbs RJ, Deshmukh AA, Bowes SG, Weller C, Nicholson PW, Milledge A, Dobbs SM (1992) Effect of captopril on functional, physiological and biochemical outcome criteria in aged heart failure patients. Br J Clin Pharmacol 33: 167–178
Collet J-P, Boissel J-P, VALIDATA Group (1991) Sick population-treated population: the need for a better definition. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 41:267–271
Cederbaum JM, Breck L, Kutt H, McDowell FH (1987) Controlled-release levodopa/carbidopa II Sinemet CR4 treatment of response fluctuations in Parkinson's disease. Neurology 37: 1607–1612
Bowes SG, O'Neill CJA, Nicholson PW Leeman AL, Deshmukh AA, Dobbs RJ, Dobbs SM (1991) Effect of duration of levodopa/decarboxylase inhibitor therapy on the pharmacokinetic handling of levodopa in elderly patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 41: 459–462
Nutt JG, Woodward WR, Gancher ST, Merrick D (1987) 3-Omethyldopa and the response to levodopa in Parkinson's disease. Ann Neurol 21: 584–588
Cederbaum JM, Kutt H, McDowell FH (1988) Clinical significance of the relationship between O-methyldopa levels and levodopa intake. Neurology 38: 533–536
Sage JI, Mark MH (1988) Comparison of controlled-release Sinemet (CR4) and standard Sinemet (25 mg/100 mg) in advanced Parkinson's disease: a double-blind, crossover study. Clin Neuropharmacol 11:174–179
Cederbaum JM, Hoey M, McDowell FH (1989) A double-blind crossover comparison of Sinemet CR4 and standard Sinemet 25/100 in patients with Parkinson's disease and fluctuating motor performance. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 52: 207–212
Cederbaum JM, Kutt H, McDowell FH (1989) A pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic comparison of Sinemet CR (50/200) and standard Sinemet. Neurology 39 [Suppl 2]: 38–44
Goetz CG, Tanner CM, Shannon KM, Carroll VS, Klawans HL, Carvey PM, Gilley DL (1988) Controlled-release levodopa/ carbidopa (CR4-Sinemet) in Parkinson's disease patients with and without motor fluctuations. Neurology 38:1143–1146
Bush DF, Liss CL, Morton A, Sinemet CR Multicenter Study Group (1989) An open multicenter long-term treatment evaluation of Sinemet CR. Neurology 39 [Suppl 2]:101–104
LeWitt PA, Nelson MV, Berchou RC, Galloway MP, Kesaree N, Kareti D, Schlick P (1989) Controlled-release carbidopa/levodopa (Sinement 50/200 CR4): clinical and pharmacokinetic studies. Neurology 39 [Suppl 2] 45–53
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bowes, S.G., Dobbs, R.J., Henley, M. et al. Objective evidence for tolerance, against a background of improvement, during maintenance therapy with controlled release levodopa/carbidopa. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 43, 483–489 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02285089
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02285089