wholesalemedicine.org

Roche / Madopar

How does it work?
This medicine contains the active ingredients levodopa and benserazide hydrochloride, sometimes known in combination as co-beneldopa. It is used in Parkinson's disease to increase the levels of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a substance known as a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are present in the brain and nervous system and are involved in transmitting messages between nerves. These messages allow the normal functioning of the body. The neurotransmitter dopamine is known to be reduced or absent in the brains of people with Parkinson's disease, and this is thought to be the cause of the disease symptoms. When you take levodopa, it is converted into dopamine in the brain. This replaces the lost dopamine and therefore reduces some of the symptoms of the disease. Unfortunately, levodopa is also converted into dopamine in the rest of the body, which can cause unwanted side effects such as nausea and palpitations. Benserazide hydrochloride is used in combination with the levodopa to prevent this happening. It blocks the conversion of levodopa to dopamine in the body and so prevents these side effects. (Benserazide cannot pass into the brain and so does not affect the conversion of levodopa to dopamine in the brain.) The combination of levodopa and benserazide is therefore effective in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, while minimising the side effects caused by levodopa on the rest of the body.