[L-dopa/benserazide during pregnancy in a patient with juvenile parkinsonism]

We report a 34-year-old woman with juvenile parkinsonism who had been treated with five tablets daily of l-dopa/benserazide (100 mg/25 mg). She became pregnant in May 1995 and continued the same treatment. She delivered a healthy boy (3,798 g, 52 cm) with Apgar scores of 9 at 38 weeks gestation by normal delivery. In animal study, there is a report of teratogenicity (bone abnormality) of l-dopa/benserazide in rabbits at doses of 30 mg/kg and 120 mg/kg. However, there have been several reports of uneventful delivery of normal children in patients with juvenile parkinsonism who had been treated with l-dopa/decarboxylase inhibitor (DCI) during pregnancy. There seems to be no firm reason to avoid pregnancy during the treatment of l-dopa/DCI or to withhold l-dopa/DCI during pregnancy.