Parkinson's Disease: Follow‐up After “Drug Holiday”

Robert G. Feldman, Jeffrey A. Kaye, Margaret C. Lannon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Long‐term management of patients with Parkinson's disease includes close monitoring and frequent dose adjustment. In a small selected group of patients, complete withdrawal of l‐dopa (drug holiday) and slow reintroduction of lower doses of this drug assured continued benefit for six to 24 months. We studied 45 drug holidays in 45 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Average preholiday l‐dopa dose was 2,970 mg/d; at 24 months, it was 263 mg/d. The drug holiday resulted in reduced adverse drug effects (dyskinesias, “on‐off” phenomenon, hallucinations, and confusion), and improved functional ratings at one, six, 12, and 24 months after the drug holiday. 1986 American College of Clinical Pharmacology

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)662-667
Number of pages6
JournalThe Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
Volume26
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 1986
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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