Review Article

The Impact of Levodopa on Quality of Life in Patients With Parkinson Disease

Sethi, Kapil D. MD, FRCP

Author Information

From the Movement Disorder Clinic, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA.

Supported by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Editorial support was provided by Embryon.

The author accepts full responsibility for the final content of the manuscript.

Reprints: Kapil D. Sethi, MD, FRCP, Movement Disorder Clinic, Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912. E-mail: [email protected].

The Neurologist 16(2):p 76-83, March 2010. | DOI: 10.1097/NRL.0b013e3181be6d15

Abstract

Background: 

Parkinson disease (PD) is associated with a progressive decline in patient quality of life (QoL), because of motor and nonmotor manifestations of PD and treatment-related side effects.

Review Summary: 

Treatment with carbidopa/levodopa—the current gold standard therapy—improves QoL in the short term, but gains are not maintained over a long term. Long-term treatment is associated with symptom re-emergence (end-of-dose “wearing off”) and development of dyskinesia, which may have an adverse impact on QoL.

Conclusions: 

Levodopa (LD; combined with carbidopa) remains the gold standard for symptomatic treatment of PD, but long-term treatment is associated with complications that may adversely affect QoL. Recent studies have suggested that the addition of a catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor may improve QoL through the reduction of some of the motor complications of LD therapy. Further studies are required to determine the full effects of this as well as other treatments that are used to manage LD-associated complications on QoL.

© 2010 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

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