[Levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: myths and realties].

In recent years we have witnessed a growing tendency to opt for the use of dopamine agonists (DA) as treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD), with the aim of delaying as far as possible the development of fluctuations and dyskinesias. Yet, levodopa continues to be the most effective antiparkinson drug and is probably the one that improves the greatest number of symptoms of the disease. This article reports on the results of a comprehensive review of the literature dealing with the benefits and risks of levodopa treatment in patients with PD which was conducted by a group of expert neurologists and members of the Spanish Neurology Society's Movement Disorder Group.

[Candidate patient for subcutaneous apomorphine injection].

Subcutaneous apomorphine injection is a fast-action, effective treatment option, that enables many patients to be rescued from predictable and non-predictable off episodes. It is an easy-to-use technique after minimum training. The neurologist can use it on patients with advanced Parkinson's disease only by following some basic procedures which are easily implemented in outpatient setting.

Concomitant progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy: more than a simple twist of fate?

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) are both rare neurodegenerative diseases. In the Queen Square Brain Bank, from 2001 to 2008, we received 120 cases of pathologically confirmed PSP and 36 of MSA, and one had concomitant PSP and MSA pathology. The clinical symptoms in this case were compatible with PSP and did not predict the dual pathology.