The Parkinson's medication Duodopa and its success in clinical use
and research trials. It is available in Sweden and other Euopean
countries, but is still in the approval process in the United States.
Duodopa is levodopa and carbidopa administered into the small
intestine. There is evidence that many patients have remarkable
results when the medication skips the stomach and goes straight into
the intestines.

Researchers have been working on perfecting the science of infusing
levodopa directly into the intestines for over two decades. We Move,
an organization dedicated to addressing movement disorders, has
posted a new article reporting on an article in Movement Disorders
about Duodopa infusion for advanced Parkinson's disease. This
experiment only involved nine patients. Other trials have been
larger and have had impressive results.

Duodopa is one of the many promising therapies that appears to be
effective. Now we just need to get it and others approved by the FDA
and into the hands of people with Parkinson's disease.

By Matt Nilsen