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Article: Two New Drugs Unveiled to Treat Early-Stage Parkinson's Disease.(Originated from The Boston Globe)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
- Article date:
- April 21, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Apr. 21--The nation's half-million Parkinson's disease patients will soon have two new drugs to treat the movement disorder, the first new agents in a dozen years, according to researchers at a Boston neurology meeting last week.
The new drugs represent no treatment breakthrough for Parkinson's, a common brain disorder that results in jerky movement, tremors, and halting or "frozen" movements. But doctors hope the new choices will enable many patients to delay their use of the mainstay drug, levodopa or L-dopa.
This would be important because L-dopa's effectiveness wanes over time, necessitating higher doses that can cause side effects, such as ...