Is levodopa slowdown progression of PD?

It only relieves the symptoms and physical disability of sufferes of parkinson but not the treatment. In fact nowsaday PD patients have a higher chance of dying of other common diseases of elderly i.e. heart attack, cancer, pneumonia than PD by itself. However Levodopa treatment improved the quality of life of PD Kindly elaborate?
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Dr. FernandezJoined: 20 Jan 2007Posts: 90
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:55 pm Post subject:

Levodopa clearly has changed the lives of millions of PD patients. They now live longer and more rewarding lives and have much less and slower disability compared to before its availability. This positive effect is felt for many years...even up to 11-15 years and beyond. However, levodopa is not a cure. It does not relieve all symptoms. Not all patients respond to it beautifully, although most do respond well. It also has it side effects--some PD populations more susceptible than others, so it needs to be used "wisely". As to whether levodopa slows disease progression in PD, the jury is still out. The data are conflicting. We have a large clinical trial that showed that those on the highest dose of levodopa had the best motor function and had the slowest decline, but the imaging arm of that same study showed that the highest dose also had the biggest decrease in dopamine uptake in the basal ganglia (signifying lesser amounts of surviving dopaminergic neurons). We are unable to definitively explain this discrepancy between the clinical finding and the imaging results. Although most authorities (myself included) give heavier weight on clinical findings. I hope this gives you some insight on this great drug! Yours,_________________Hubert H. Fernandez
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