Skip to main content
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 1990 Nov;53(11):1004–1007. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.53.11.1004

Comparison of motor response to apomorphine and levodopa in Parkinson's disease.

P A Kempster 1, J P Frankel 1, G M Stern 1, A J Lees 1
PMCID: PMC488286  PMID: 2283512

Abstract

The magnitude and pattern of motor responses to single doses of subcutaneous apomorphine and oral levodopa were compared in 14 patients with Parkinson's disease. Although apomorphine produced much shorter motor responses than levodopa, the quality of response to the two drugs was virtually indistinguishable. These clinical observations support the notion that integrity of striatal post-synaptic dopamine receptors is a key determinant of responsiveness to dopaminergic treatment in Parkinson's disease.

Full text

PDF
1004

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aghajanian G. K., Bunney B. S. Dopamine"autoreceptors": pharmacological characterization by microiontophoretic single cell recording studies. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 1977 Mar;297(1):1–7. doi: 10.1007/BF00508803. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Braham J., Sarova-Pinhas I., Goldhammer Y. Apomorphine in Parkinsonian tremor. Br Med J. 1970 Sep 26;3(5725):768–768. doi: 10.1136/bmj.3.5725.768. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bunney B. S., Aghajanian G. K., Roth R. H. Comparison of effects of L-dopa, amphetamine and apomorphine on firing rate of rat dopaminergic neurones. Nat New Biol. 1973 Sep 26;245(143):123–125. doi: 10.1038/newbio245123a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chaudhuri K. R., Critchley P., Abbott R. J., Pye I. F., Millac P. A. Subcutaneous apomorphine for on-off oscillations in Parkinson's disease. Lancet. 1988 Nov 26;2(8622):1260–1260. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)90860-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Düby S. E., Cotzias G. C., Papavasiliou P. S., Lawrence W. H. Injected apomorphine and orally administered levodopa in Parkinsonism. Arch Neurol. 1972 Dec;27(6):474–480. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1972.00490180010004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hornykiewicz O. The mechanisms of action of L-dopa in Parkinson's disease. Life Sci. 1974 Oct 1;15(7):1249–1259. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(74)90306-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kempster P. A., Frankel J. P., Bovingdon M., Webster R., Lees A. J., Stern G. M. Levodopa peripheral pharmacokinetics and duration of motor response in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1989 Jun;52(6):718–723. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.52.6.718. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Nutt J. G., Gancher S. T., Woodward W. R. Does an inhibitory action of levodopa contribute to motor fluctuations? Neurology. 1988 Oct;38(10):1553–1557. doi: 10.1212/wnl.38.10.1553. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Poewe W., Kleedorfer B., Gerstenbrand F., Oertel W. Subcutaneous apomorphine in Parkinson's disease. Lancet. 1988 Apr 23;1(8591):943–943. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)91755-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Pollak P., Champay A. S., Hommel M., Perret J. E., Benabid A. L. Subcutaneous apomorphine in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1989 Apr;52(4):544–544. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.52.4.544. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Stibe C. M., Lees A. J., Kempster P. A., Stern G. M. Subcutaneous apomorphine in parkinsonian on-off oscillations. Lancet. 1988 Feb 20;1(8582):403–406. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)91193-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES