Antiparkinson agents 

What are Antiparkinson agents?

Antiparkinson agents aim to replace dopamine either by drugs that release dopamine or those that mimic the action of dopamine. Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of movement that occurs due to dopamine deficiency in the basal ganglia. Antiparkinson agents attempt to replace dopamine and treat or halt the symptoms such as tremor, hypokinesia, and so on.

Antiparkinsonian drugs can be classified as dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic drugs. Dopaminergic drugs include levodopa, dopamine agonists, monoamine oxidase B inhibitors, catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors, and zonisamide.

Levodopa: this drug is the most effective medication to control the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. It is absorbed by the nerve cells in your brain and is converted to dopamine. Levodopa is usually combined with a peripheral dopa-decarboxylase inhibitor such as benserazide or carbidopa.

The antiparkinsonian effect of anticholinergics was discovered in 1867 (Ordenstein 1867), and for nearly a century, they remained the only drugs available for the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson´s disease.

Ergoline-derived dopamine agonists (bromocriptine, cabergoline and pergolide) can cause pulmonary and retroperitoneal fibrosis and other ergot adverse effects such as digital vasospasm and erythromelalgia.

List of Antiparkinson agents