Acute effects of pulsatile levodopa administration on central dopamine pharmacodynamics

Inconsistencies in the response to individual levodopa doses occur in most patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). To investigate the possible development of acute tachyphylaxis, we evaluated the effects of repeated injections of intravenous levodopa in 10 PD patients with motor fluctuations by administering, during a single day, a previously determined optimal levodopa dose repeatedly each time motor function returned to baseline. Peak antiparkinsonian response was lower by 20%, and peak plasma levodopa levels lower by 35% following the first dose compared with all subsequent doses. Neither peak dyskinesia scores nor the duration of motor response changed significantly with successive levodopa doses. These data suggest that pulsatile levodopa administration does not acutely alter dopamine receptor responsiveness, and that other pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic factors contribute to the dose-to-dose variability in response to levodopa.