[Randomized study during a year of early combination of L-dopa/lisuride in Parkinson disease]

The tolerance and efficacy of dopatherapy associated to lisuride or placebo were compared in 74 de novo patients with Parkinson's disease in a prospective randomized trial. Only non depressed and non demented patients, previously treated with low doses of levodopa during less than one year, were included in this study. Mean age was 59 (range 36-68). After 12 months, the mean dosage of levodopa was higher in the placebo group than in the lisuride group (318 +/- 121 and 274 +/- 74 mg daily respectively). We observed a different decrease in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale with better scores in the lisuride group than in the placebo group, especially for the motor items (p less than 0.001) and the daily living (p less than 0.0001). The tolerance was similar in the two groups. This trial will be continued in open conditions over a period of 4 years to appreciate the incidence of motor fluctuations in the two groups.