Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive, debilitating disease that is characterized with difficulties in motor skills, cognition and speech. According to the FDA there are nearly a dozen drugs approved for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and that there are many new treatment options being studied. The primary factor associated with Parkinson’s appears to be the neurotransmitter dopamine. Because dopamine is so important for the normal functions of the brain, drugs used as Parkinson’s Disease medication are drugs that balance dopamine levels.
L-dopa is the most widely prescribed drug Parkinson’s Disease medication. L-dopa converts into dopamine when it crosses the blood-brain barrier and enters into the brain. Unfortunately this is a fast transition and much of the dopamine from L-dopa never fully reaches the brain. There fore a combination of drugs is often prescribes to increase efficiency and Carbidopa is included to slow down the action of dopamine conversion (FDA).Although these drugs are beneficial for many Parkinson’s patients they may also have side effects that may prove counterproductive over time.
Dopamine agonists are drugs that interact in the brain to mimic dopamine. They aren’t converted into dopamine, but rather they behave as dopamine would and they stimulate activity in the cells to facilitate normal neural transmission. Examples of agonists are the drugs bromocriptine, pramipexole, Ropinirole and Apomorphine amongst others. Dopamine agonists also come with a host of side effects that can be quite disturbing. For example, a small percentage of people of these drugs reports hallucinations, insomnia and somnolence. Over time the effectiveness of agonists seem to decline.
Other Parkinson’s Disease medications that are promising include; Mirapex, Requip and Tasmar(FDA). These drugs reportedly improve the quality of life for patients who have Parkinson’s Disease by improving mobility and speech. Improvements are noted to walking, talking and mobility. Parkinson’s Disease medications are constantly evolving. For many people these therapies can delay symptoms or suppress some altogether improving the quality of their lives for years to come.