Continuous infusion of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel in Parkinson's disease

Evaluation of: Olanow CW, Kieburtz K, Odin P et al. Continuous intrajejunal infusion of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease: a randomised, controlled, double-blind, double-dummy study. Lancet Neurol. 13(2), 141-149 (2014). Levodopa-induced motor complications, including motor fluctuations and dyskinesia, can be a major source of disability for Parkinson's disease patients. The development of levodopa-induced motor complications has been attributed to the pulsatile dopaminergic stimulation characteristic of conventional oral levodopa regimens. This is a review of a 12-week, randomized, controlled, double-blind, double-dummy study of continuous jejunal infusion of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel to determine if the continuous infusion of levodopa reduces motor complications in Parkinson's disease. Results demonstrated that levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel significantly reduced off-time without increasing troublesome dyskinesia compared with standard oral levodopa therapy. Adverse effects were common in both the levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel and placebo groups and were related primarily to the infusion hardware.