Body weight, levodopa pharmacokinetics and dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease

We conducted a pharmacokinetic study in 164 patients with sporadic
Parkinson's disease (PD) to address the relationship between body weight
and levodopa pharmacokinetics. Patients underwent an oral acute levodopa
test with 250 mg levodopa and pharmacokinetic variables were further
assessed. Plasmatic levodopa area under the curve (AUC-l) and body weight
were significantly and inversely correlated. Women were significantly
lighter and more dyskinetic than men, and had greater AUC-l values. Our
data suggest that during long-term treatment, lighter PD patients,
especially women, may receive a greater cumulative dosage of levodopa per
kilogram of body weight. This could explain gender differences for the
development of levodopa-induced peak-dose dyskinesias observed during the
course of the disease.