Oral solution of levodopa ethylester for treatment of response fluctuations in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.

Levodopa ethylester (LDEE), a highly soluble prodrug of levodopa, may overcome the impaired absorption of regular levodopa, due mainly to a combination of levodopa's poor solubility and delayed gastric emptying. We conducted a double-blind, levodopa-controlled, multicenter study of oral LDEE solution compared with standard levodopa-carbidopa (LD-CD) tablets. Sixty-two patients with Parkinson's disease who had "delayed on" and "no-on" subtypes of response fluctuations were randomly assigned for treatment with LDEE-CD or LD-CD 250/25 mg for 4 weeks (phase A).