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Antiparkinsonism agents
Learning objectives
Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to:
1.
Describe the current theory of the cause of Parkinson’s disease and correlate this with the clinical presentation
of the disease.
2.
Describe the therapeutic actions, indications, pharmacokinetics, contraindications, most common adverse
reactions and important drug–drug interactions associated with antiparkinsonism agents.
3.
Discuss the use of antiparkinsonism agents across the lifespan.
4.
Compare and contrast the prototype drugs for each class of antiparkinsonism agents with the other drugs in
that class and with drugs from the other classes that are used to treat the disease.
5.
Outline the care considerations and teaching needs for people receiving each class of antiparkinsonism
agents.
Glossary of key terms
anticholinergic:
drug that opposes the effects of acetylcholine at acetylcholine-receptor sites
bradykinesia:
difficulty in performing intentional movements and extreme slowness and sluggishness; characteristic of Parkinson’s
disease
corpus striatum:
part of the brain that reacts with the substantia nigra to maintain a balance of suppression and stimulation
dopaminergic:
drug that increases the effects of dopamine at receptor sites
Parkinson’s disease:
debilitating disease, characterised by progressive loss of coordination and function, which results from the
degeneration of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra
parkinsonism:
Parkinson’s disease–like extrapyramidal symptoms that are adverse effects associated with particular drugs or brain
injuries
substantia nigra:
a part of the brain rich in dopamine and dopamine receptors; site of degenerating neurons in Parkinson’s disease
Test your current knowledge of antiparkinsonism agents with a PrepU Practice Quiz!
DOPAMINERGIC AGENTS
amantadine
apomorphine
bromocriptine
cabergoline
carbidopa–levodopa
levodopa
levodopa-benserazide
levodopa-carbidopa-
entacapone
pergolide
pramipexole
ropinirole
rotigotine
ANTICHOLINERGIC AGENTS
benzhexol
benztropine
biperiden
ADJUNCTIVE AGENTS
entacapone
rasagiline
selegiline
tolcapone
