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Neal R. Cutler, MD; John J. Sramek, PharmD
California Clinical Trials 8500 Wilshire Blvd, Seventh Floor Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Gilbert A. Block, MD, PhD
Division of Clinical Neurosciences Merck Research Laboratories West Point, PA 19486

Arch Neurol. 1993;50(9):896.

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

To the Editor.

—We were pleased to read the article entitled "Dopamine Agonist Treatment of Fluctuating Parkinsonism,"¹ which focuses on the relative contributions of D₁ and D₂ receptors to the efficacy and adverse experience profile of dopamine agonist treatment. We have recently published data on the pharmacokinetics and dose proportionality, efficacy, and safety of MK-458 (HPMC [hydroxypropyl methylcellulose]), a sustained release pure D₂ agonist in patients with parkinsonism.²

Patients with stages I through III disease were titrated to 18 mg of MK-458 (HPMC) twice a day over 1 month, followed by a 36-hour washout. All patients then received, in a four-period crossover, 6, 12, and 18 mg of oral MK-458 (HPMC) and 40 µg of intravenous MK-458.

The terminal half-life of MK-458 after oral sustained release administration is 3.8 hours, and bioavailability is estimated at 4.1% to 4.9%; maximum plasma concentration, C_max, is reached . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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