To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: ICPD: Levodopa Uptake Not Impaired by Normal Protein Diet URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/202732.htm Doctor's Guide August 1, 2001
By Richard Robinson Special to DG News HELSINKI, FINLAND -- August 1, 2001 -- Absorption of levodopa from the gastrointestinal tract of patients with Parkinson's disease is not impaired by a normal protein diet, says Francois Viallet, MD, of the Centre Hospitale and Faculty of Medicine in Marseille, France. "A low protein diet is often recommended to PD patients," said Dr. Viallet at the 14th International Congress on Parkinson's Disease in Helsinki, yesterday, July 31st. Levodopa is absorbed via an amino acid transporter in the gut, and high protein diets can slow uptake. However, said Dr. Viallet, "actual improvement of motor fluctuations remains modest" on a low-protein diet when compared to a normal protein diet. Since this hypothesis is counter to the conventional wisdom, Dr. Viallet compared pharmacokinetic parameters in 20 PD patients eating a breakfast containing 7.5 mg protein, and lunch with 40 mg, each accompanied by the patient's normal levodopa dose, followed by periodic blood sampling. Neither the maximum plasma concentration nor the time to that maximum were different between the two tests, while the "area under the curve" was slightly higher following the noon meal, "probably due to the slightly higher noon-time levodopa intake," Dr. Viallet explained. Given these results, Dr. Viallet speculated that the observed changes of levodopa pharmacodynamics with high concentrations of dietary protein probably are due to impaired transport into the brain, rather than from the gut, and suggested that low-protein diets may not be a significant aid to improvement of levodopa uptake. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.