Levodopa useful in stroke rehabilitation
Levodopa can improve motor function recovery after
stroke when given in combination with physiotherapy, German researchers
say.
They investigated the effect of levodopa (100mg
daily) on motor function recovery in 53 stroke patients. Motor recovery
was significantly improved after three weeks in those on levodopa compared
with placebo. The advantage of levodopa was maintained at the end of the
study, three weeks after levodopa was stopped, and the drug was well tolerated.
The researchers explain that experiments in animals have shown that administration
of amphetamines improve motor function recovery, probably by increasing
the concentration of noradrenaline in the central nervous system. Levodopa
is metabolised to dopamine and then converted to noradrenaline in the
brain, they explain (Lancet 2001;358:787).
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