Treatment of Parkinson's disease with aporphines. Possible role of growth hormone.

Abstract

To avoid the main drawbacks of prolonged treatment with levodopa (involuntary movements and the "on-off" phenomenon), we administered apomorphine by mouth to 14 patients with Parkinson's disease. This treatment caused azotemia, which we circumvented by switching to N-propylnoraporpine, whose nephrotoxic dose (80 mg six times per day) was larger than its therapeutic dose (10 to 15 mg six times per day). Slowly increasing doses induced significant improvement (P less than 0.005) in all 24 patients studied, transitory mental aberrations in seven, and release of growth hormone in three patients tested. In patients previously on prolonged levodopa administration, the dyskinesia and "on-off" phenomenon were almost identical with N-propylnoraporphine, but both drawbacks were reduced or abolished in six patients by coadministration of alpha-methyldopa hydrazine plus levodopa. This coadministration seemed to abolish tachyphylaxis. We conclude that N-propylnoraporphine is very useful in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

• Authors: G C Cotzias, P S Papavasiliou, E S Tolosa, J S Mendez, M Bell-Midura
• Journal: The New England journal of medicine (N Engl J Med) Vol. 294 Issue 11 Pg. 567-72 (Mar 11 1976) ISSN: 0028-4793 [Print] United States
• PMID: 1107835 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)

Chemical References

• Levodopa
• Growth Hormone
• Carbidopa
• Apomorphine

Topics

• Administration, Oral
• Aged
• Apomorphine (administration & dosage, adverse effects, analogs & derivatives, therapeutic use)
• Carbidopa (administration & dosage, therapeutic use)
• Clinical Trials as Topic
• Drug Therapy, Combination
• Female
• Growth Hormone (metabolism)
• Humans
• Kidney (drug effects)
• Levodopa (administration & dosage, therapeutic use)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Movement Disorders (chemically induced)
• Parkinson Disease (drug therapy)
• Secretory Rate (drug effects)