Clinical and pharmacokinetic observations with Madopar HBS in hospitalized patients with Parkinson's disease and motor fluctuations.

The efficacy of a novel oral sustained-release preparation of L-dopa (Madopar HBS) was compared to that of previous standard L-dopa treatment in 10 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and severe fluctuations in motor performance in an open inpatient trial. Clinical assessment included evaluation of self-scoring 'on-off' diaries kept by the patients throughout the study. It revealed a reduction of end-of-dose deterioration and, to a lesser degree, of random 'on-off' swings in 6 cases. Doses of Madopar HBS required for an optimal response averaged the 1.6-fold of previous conventional L-dopa. Plasma levels of L-dopa were more stable with Madopar HBS compared to standard L-dopa treatment in 4 of 5 patients.