Initiating treatment of Parkinson's disease

Treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) can be divided into two categories: symptomatic therapy (restoring dopamine levels toward normal and reversing functional disability) and preventive therapy (interfering with the pathophysiologic mechanism of PD to prevent or decrease the rate of progression of the disease). Regarding symptomatic treatment, although anticholinergic preparations generally are considered effective for the symptoms of tremor and rigidity without altering bradykinesia, their effectiveness is limited and adverse reactions are common; their role should be restricted to use as adjuvants to levodopa therapy. Amantadine has been shown to be as effective as anticholinergics, but it lacks long-term efficacy. Dopamine agonists--bromocriptine, pergolide mesylate and lisuride in Europe--are not as effective as levodopa and therefore rarely are used as initial therapy; their proposed role, too, is as adjuvants to levodopa therapy. Levodopa is the most effective drug presently available for the treatment of PD; its introduction is accompanied by rapid and dramatic reduction of symptoms and signs. Initial adverse reactions are not usually a major problem; and although there is speculation that initiation of therapy should be delayed because of possible long-term complications, clinically distinguishing these from problems related to disease progression itself is difficult. The possibility that nigral cell death is mediated by oxidative mechanisms provides the basis for considering antioxidant therapy as protective treatment; selegiline, an antioxidant, has been found to delay the need for symptomatic therapy. It is suggested that initial treatment of Parkinson's disease begin with both preventive therapy with selegiline and symptomatic treatment with the sustained-release preparation of levodopa, which may be associated with fewer long-term complications.