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Levodopa + Carbidopa

Antiparkinson drugs Prescription
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Indications

Parkinson's Disease Stroke

Levodopa + Carbidopa tablet is used to treat Parkinson's disease and parkinsonian syndrome. It helps relieve many of the symptoms of parkinsonism, especially rigidity and bradykinesia. The tablet is often helpful in managing tremor, dysphagia, sialorrhea and postural instability linked to Parkinson's disease and syndrome. Levodopa plus carbidopa given before physiotherapy increases motor recovery after stroke.

⚠️ Always consult a registered physician before taking any medicine.

Pharmacology

Levodopa is the metabolic precursor of dopamine. It crosses the blood-brain barrier and is converted to dopamine in the brain. Carbidopa is a dopa decarboxylase (DDC) inhibitor. It reduces the breakdown of levodopa to dopamine outside the brain, so more levodopa reaches the brain.

Levodopa: As the precursor of dopamine, levodopa does cross the blood-brain barrier and is presumably converted to dopamine in the brain. This is thought to be how levodopa relieves the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Carbidopa: When levodopa is taken by mouth, it is rapidly decarboxylated to dopamine in tissues outside the brain. Because of this, only a small portion of a given dose reaches the central nervous system unchanged. Carbidopa inhibits the decarboxylation of levodopa in the peripheral tissues, which makes more levodopa available for delivery to the brain.

Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

We don't know how CarbidopaLevodopa affects human pregnancy. But both Levodopa and the combination of Carbidopa and Levodopa have caused visceral and skeletal malformations in rabbits. So for women who could become pregnant, the doctor needs to weigh the expected benefits of the medicine against the possible harm if pregnancy occurs.

It's not known whether Carbidopa passes into human milk. Many medicines do pass into breast milk, and there is a chance of serious adverse reactions in infants. For this reason, a decision should be made either to stop nursing or to stop Carbidopa-Levodopa, taking into account how important the medicine is to the mother.

⚠️ Talk to your doctor before taking any medicine during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

Dosage Reference

⚠️ Reference ranges from official sources only. Consult your doctor for personalized dosing.

Adults: 100/10 mg tablet: You can start with one tablet three or four times a day. Some patients may need the dose raised step by step to reach the best dose of carbidopa. Increase by one tablet every day or every other day until a total of eight tablets (two tablets q.d.s.) is reached. 250/25 mg tablet: The starting dose is one half taken once or twice daily. This may not give many patients the best amount of carbidopa, so if needed, add one-half every day or every other day until the best response is reached. For most patients taking more than 1500 mg of Levodopa a day, the suggested starting dose is one tablet of 250/25 mg three or four times a day. 100/25 mg tablet: When Levodopa 100 mg & Carbidopa 25 mg tablet is used, start with 1 tablet, 3 times a day. This schedule gives 75 mg of carbidopa per day. The dose can be raised by 1 tablet every day or every other day, as needed, until 8 tablets of Levodopa 100 mg & Carbidopa 25 mg a day is reached. 50/12.5 mg tablet: One tablet three or four times a day. Maintenance dose: Treatment should be individualized and adjusted to the response wanted. When more levodopa is required, the 250/25 mg tablet should be used instead, at one tablet three or four times a day. If needed, the 250/25 mg dose may be raised by half to one tablet every other day, up to a maximum of eight tablets a day. Experience with a total daily dose greater than 200 mg Carbidopa is limited.

Side Effects & Interactions

Side Effects

No side-effect data recorded yet.