Word: levodopa
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...Center for Neuroimaging at University College London, scientists presented 61 healthy volunteers with 80 different vacation locations, such as Brazil, Thailand and Greece, and asked the volunteers to rate how happy they thought they would be visiting each place. Later, 29 of the participants were given 100 mg of levodopa (or L-DOPA), a drug that increases dopamine in the brain; the other 32 were unwittingly given a sugar pill. Forty minutes later, each participant was given a questionnaire about their emotional state, then a list containing half of the previously rated destinations. They were asked to imagine themselves vacationing...
...Americans are afflicted with Parkinson's disease, which is marked by a progressive dying off of the brain cells that control voluntary movement. Victims suffer from the shakes, muscle stiffness and poor balance; eventually, many become totally disabled. Standard treatment for Parkinson's has relied on giving patients levodopa. But the drug, which supplies remaining brain cells with a vital chemical, simply tempers the disease's symptoms without affecting its progress. Even worse, the medication soon becomes ineffective. For that reason, doctors wait as long as possible after the disease is diagnosed before prescribing levodopa...
...conclusive proof of deprenyl's effect on Parkinson's in last week's New England Journal of Medicine. In a study at 28 U.S. and Canadian medical centers involving 800 patients, investigators found that those given deprenyl took significantly more time to reach the point where they needed levodopa than did those not receiving the drug. Based on the results, the researchers project that patients on deprenyl can wait twice as long -- about a year -- before taking levodopa...
...First there was the mild stiffening of limbs and the tremors that mark the onset of Parkinson's disease. Then came the gradual loss of muscle control, leaving them prisoners in their own bodies -- mentally lucid but physically unable to eat, urinate or comb their hair without assistance. Levodopa, the most common treatment for the debilitating illness, had ceased to work for one man and could not be tolerated by the other. Nor were other drugs of use. Facing further deterioration, the two agreed to become guinea pigs in a remarkable experiment conducted at La Raza Medical Center in Mexico...
...million Americans with Parkinson's disease, the Mexican research offers new hope. "If these results turn out to be valid and replicable, this would be a major advance," says Neuroscientist William Freed of the National Institute of Mental Health. Current treatments for Parkinson's are far from ideal. Levodopa, which is chemically related to dopamine, can cause irregular heartbeats, paranoia and depression, and ceases to be effective after prolonged use. Freed and others are eager to see if the new technique will work in older patients (most Parkinson's victims are over 50), and if its benefits will last...
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