Re: SINEMET HALF-LIFE-Reply to Dennis.

[Ernie Peters <ernestos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dennis,

At 09:43 23/02/97 -0500, you wrote in part:

>With regard to Sinemet CR, it seems to me that the implication of the
>statement that ' the "exponential decay rate" referred to the drug once
>it was in the blood plasma' is that:
>
>1.      the exponential decay rate is operative on all deliveries of the
>        drug, once they are in the blood stream.
>
>2.      this in turn will result in a small, but significant increase in the
>        drug levels over the delivery period of the tablet, culminating
>        in a peak at the end of the dose.
>
>If this is indeed what happens, it could explain end of dose dyskinesa, at
>least as regards Sinemet CR.
>
>Dennis.
>

I agree Dennis, it could indeed explain it.  Whether a particular individual
would suffer this effect would also be complicated by the exact Levadopa
peak required to trigger the dyskinesia, how the timing/dosage level
contributed to reaching this level and, not least, the food intake and
digestion characteristics of the individual.

Theoretically, if the half-life theory is correct, one would expect, if
three Sinemet tablets were taken at equally spaced intervals throughout the
day, that the 2nd tablet of the day lasts longer than the 1st and the 3rd
the longest of the three. This is assuming similar food intake and exercise
levels and that an agonist taken once daily in the morning is not spoiling
the model.

So much to take into account isn't there?

Regards,

Ernie Peters <ernestos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>