This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (8)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Neurology, Other  • Alert me on articles by topic

William J. Weiner, MD

Arch Neurol. 2000;57:408-410.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

IN RECENT years there has been an increasing chorus of concern regarding the use of levodopa in patients with Parkinson disease. Despite its acknowledged and recognized role as the single most potent agent for the treatment of Parkinson disease, questions regarding its toxicity have emerged. The expressed concern is that levodopa induces or accelerates dopaminergic cell death, resulting in more rapid disease progression. Clinical neurologists at first greeted these concerns with skepticism because levodopa is well known to be the single most effective treatment to improve motor symptoms in Parkinson disease and has been demonstrated to improve longevity in patients with this disorder.^1-3 However, repeated publication of the levodopa toxicity hypothesis began to sway neurologic opinion. In addition, the repeated "warnings" issued in various Parkinson disease lay organization magazines intensified the fear of levodopa therapy in patients and their families. Herein, we examine the myth of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

From the Department of Neurology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Fla.

RELATED ARTICLES

Levodopa Toxicity in Parkinson Disease: Reality or Myth?: Reality—Practice Patterns Should Change
Lisa M. Shulman
Arch Neurol. 2000;57(3):406-408.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Levodopa Toxicity
Vladimir Hachinski
Arch Neurol. 2000;57(3):410.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Initial Treatment of Parkinson Disease: Levodopa or Dopamine Agonists
Weiner
Arch Neurol 2004;61:1966-1969.
FULL TEXT  

Levodopa strengths and weaknesses
Jankovic
Neurology 2002;58:S19-32.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Hunt for a Cure for Parkinson's Disease
Andersen et al.
Sci Aging Knowl Environ 2001;2001:re1-1.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Levodopa Toxicity
Hachinski
Arch Neurol 2000;57:410-410.
FULL TEXT