Drug: The drug being researched is Sinemet, which came on the market in 1973 (Leffler). The name Sinemet literally means "without vomiting."
DRUG USED FOR: The drug is used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and syndrome.
2) Consumer Medicine Information (msd-australia.com.au)
DRUG INFORMATION: The FDA source was used, which turns out to parallel the information given by the drug manufacturer. It was considered a reliable source because the FDA approved the drug in 1973. The proprietary name of the drug is Sinemet, and it's is a compound of carbidopa-levodopa. Carbidopa, an inhibitor of aromatic amino acid decarboxylation, is a white, crystalline compound, slightly soluble in water, having a molecular weight of 244.3. Its chemical designation is (-)-L?-hydrazino-?-methyl-?-(3,4-dihydroxybenzene) propanoic acid monohydrate. Levodopa is an aromatic amino acid, and is also a white, crystalline compound, slightly soluble in water, with a molecular weight of 197.2. It's chemical designation is (-)-L?-amino-?-(3, 4,-dihydroxybenzene) propanoic acid.
RATIONALE FOR DRUG USE: Patients with Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the extrapyramidal nervous system, which affects the control and mobility of the skeletal muscular system, have characteristic tremors, rigidity, and bradykinetic movements which can be improved by treatment with levodopa. Levels of dopamine appear to be depleted in the corpus striatum of these patients. They cannot be treated with dopamine because it does not cross the blood-brain barrier, but levodopa, the metabolic precursor of dopamine, does.
Large doses of levodopa given orally are rapidly decarboxylated to dopamine in extracerebral tissue so little of a given dose actually reaches the central nervous system unchanged. The large doses needed for therapeutic effect
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