Levodopa - epgonline.org

ENT416_NURSES LEAVEPIECE.qxd 2/10/06 14:08 Page 12
Stalevo ® : more continuous
levodopa for less pulsatility
• Stalevo (levodopa/carbidopa/entacapone) is an enhanced levodopa that
improves the delivery of dopamine to the brain
Stalevo provides more consistent delivery 1
5000
Levodopa/DDCI + entacapone
Levodopa/DDCI + placebo
Levodopa plasma levels (ng/mL)
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Dose Dose Dose Dose Dose
DDCI=dopa-decarboxylase inhibitor
18 patients on oral levodopa dosed 3, 4 or 5 times/day had entacapone 200 mg administered with
each levodopa dose for 4 weeks. Plasma levels were taken over 12 hours before and after addition
of entacapone. Plasma levels for one patient dosing q3h.
• In patients with wearing-off, Stalevo 2–8 :
– Improves overall patient function (represented in the figure opposite by
UPDRS scores*), activities of daily living (ADL) and motor scores
versus traditional levodopa
– Furthermore, Stalevo allows the preservation of function (UPDRS*)
and levodopa dose for at least the 3 years following initiation. In
contrast, the use of traditional levodopa and the dopamine agonist
pramipexole has been shown only to delay the progression of PD
rather than stabilize it
– Increases the time that symptoms are well-controlled (‘on’ time) by
up to 1.7 hours versus baseline
– Long-term trials indicate that using Stalevo at an early stage confers
additional sustained benefits in symptom control which are
maintained for at least 5 years 8
• Stalevo is well-tolerated, with a favourable side-effect profile