(-)Deprenyl in Parkinson's disease: a two-year study in the different evolutive stages

Seventy-nine patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease in various phases of evolution of the clinical picture were studied. All the patients, already under treatment with L-dopa + PDI, were treated with (-)deprenyl at the dose of 10 mg/day orally in two daily administrations. The mean follow-up was 8.7 months (range, 1-29). Overall, 47.6% of the patients improved, 27.4% showed a marked improvement, 38.1% showed evident modifications, and 27.4% worsened. Sixteen patients were excluded from the study for various reasons. In 53.2% of the cases it was possible to reduce the daily L-dopa dose by a mean of 30%. Overall, (-)deprenyl was effective in the treatment of our parkinsonian patients in the various conditions evaluated, and thus constitutes a new therapeutic strategy for Parkinson's disease.