Replacing a dopamine agonist by the COMT-inhibitor tolcapone as an adjunct to L-dopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: a randomized, multicenter, open-label, parallel-group study.

Objective: This study investigated the feasibility, safety, and potential benefit in motor symptom control when switching from a dopamine agonist to tolcapone as an adjunctive therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease with a fluctuating response to levodopa (l-dopa). We determined the efficacy of 2 replacement strategies.

Methods: In this 10-week, randomized, open-label, stratified, parallel-group trial, 150 patients on a stable regimen of l-dopa/decarboxylase inhibitor in combination with bromocriptine, lisuride, or pergolide were switched to tolcapone.

One-year treatment with standard and sustained-release levodopa: appropriate long-term treatment of restless legs syndrome?

To investigate the long-term efficacy and safety of sustained-release (SR) in combination with regular-release (RR) levodopa/benserazide in the treatment of restless legs syndrome (RLS), an open-label, prospective, extension study of a preceding double-blind crossover trial was performed for 12 months. Twenty-three severely disturbed RLS patients (7 men, 16 women) received a combination of RR and SR levodopa. Patients were treated on average for 10 months with a mean daily dose of 203 +/- 101 mg of RR and of 185 +/- 93 mg of SR levodopa.