Advanced Parkinson's disease: use of partial dopamine agonist, ciladopa. Ciladopa is a partial dopamine agonist that is effective in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease who are no longer satisfactorily responding to levodopa. Thirty-one patients participated in a double-blind randomized study of ciladopa (added to levodopa) versus placebo. Among 21 patients randomized to treatment with ciladopa and levodopa, there was a 32% decrease in symptoms on the Modified Columbia University Disability Scale. This change was significant, p less than or equal to 0.05. Eight of the 21 patients (38%) improved by at least 50%. The mean number of hours "on" increased by 20%. This change was significant, p less than or equal to 0.05. Five of the 21 patients (24%) were on for at least 4 hours more than
A double-blind evaluation of ciladopa in Parkinson's disease. We evaluated 32 patients with Parkinson's disease in a double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled study with ciladopa (a troponylpiperazine derivative). The dosages administered were 5 mg b.i.d. and 15 mg b.i.d. Significant improvement was found in the gait scores and in the total disability scores in the high dose group (p less in this study. These findings suggest that ciladopa may be an efficacious agent in Parkinson's disease. The low incidence of adverse effects with this agent suggests that higher doses may be utilized and may prove to be more effective.