Does ingesting Sinemet and Mirapex increase the chances of developing
symptoms of Parkinsons Disease in a healthy person?

Hi ravensdale,

The short answer, ravensdale, is NO. Both Sinemet and Mirapex, while
prescribed frequently for Parkinsons? Disease, (PD) are also
prescribed in non-Parkinsons?s patients, who suffer from RLS, restless
leg syndrome. (Honestly!) However, if your doctor has not prescribed
these medications for you, please do not take them. All medications
have their side effects.
Restless Leg Syndrome Foundation
http://www.rls.org/about_rls/default.htm#Treatment
Neruroland
http://neuroland.com/sleep/restless_leg_syn.htm


 You may be thinking about the fact that some Parkinsons?s patients
regress after taking these medications. Since PD is associated with
increased dopamine turnover, some studies have shown that taking
levodopa could actually augment the already increased dopamine
turnover, causing even more nerve damage. This should only happen to
PD patients, not normal healthy people who may be taking Sinemet
and/or Mirapex.

Most scientists and medical experts believe that Parkinson's is caused
by genetic  and/or environmental factors. About 20% of all
Parkinsons?s patients have a family member with the disease. According
to the Parkinson?s Foundation, ?Several studies have suggested a link
between rural living, herbicide use and exposure to pesticides as
possible factors that may contribute to a person's developing
Parkinson's? Drinking well water, and living close to  industrial
plants or quarries are considered risk factors as well.
http://www.pdf.org/AboutPD/causes.cfm 
eMedicine:
http://www.emedicine.com/NEURO/topic304.htm


?What is known is how the disorder works. Parkinson's is a chronic,
progressive neurological disease attacking cells in a part of the
mid-brain, which produce a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine
facilitates communication in the brain and when production is slowed
or stops -- as in the onset of Parkinson's -- neurons lose the ability
to receive instruction from the "command center" as to how to direct
muscles. One result of having wayward neurons is that they send
signals to muscles in the body, which cause spasms or other
Parkinson's-related symptoms.?
ICAN News Service
http://www.ican.com/news/fullpage.cfm/articleid/85F5ABEA-EE78-4812-9722455A306FC8F0/cx/health.conditions_library/condition.cfm

Mirapex(pramipexole) is a dopamine agonist, meaning it activates
dopamine receptors in the brain, that have been affected by
Parkinson?s.
Parkinson?s Foundation
http://www.pdf.org/AboutPD/med_treatment.cfm


Sinemet is a precursor to dopamine, but dopamine does not cross the
blood-brain barrier. Levodopa (Sinemet) does cross the blood-brain
barrier and is converted to dopamine in the brain. More about Sinemet
(Carbidopa-Levodopa):
http://www.bms.com/cgi-bin/anybin.pl?sql=select%20PPI%0A%09%09%09%09%20%20%20from%20TB_PRODUCT_PPI%20%0A%09%09%09%09%20%20%20where%20PPI_SEQ%20=%2093&key=PPI

I hope this helps you! Again, unless these medications have been
prescribed for you, please do not use them!

If any part of my answer is unclear, please request an Answer
Clarification befre rating. This will enable me to assist you further,
if possible.

Sincerely,
crabcakes-ga


Search Terms
Sinemet Mirapex
Parkinson?s Disease

I have been a caregiver for a Parkinson's patient for 5 years. There
are side affects of long term use of Parkie drugs. I don't know how a
non-parkie would react. Please do not use these drugs without a
prescription. Long term use induces symptoms of schizophrenia. These
dieases, chemically, are opposite of eachother. One, Parkinson's, is
theorized to be caused by the lack of or inability to absorbe dopamine
by the brain, the other, schizophrenia, is concurrant with hightened
levels of dopamine, and their receptors, in the brain. Given this, I
would theorize that giving non-parkie's Sinamet, or similar drugs,
could cause halucinations...not the fun kind! My client used to fear
bugs crawling all over her. Likewise, drugs prescribed to schizoid
patients have been known to cause Parkie-like symptoms, like dystonia
(muscle freezing). Dopamine is one of the vital nerotransmitters in
our delicate nervous system. Don't play with the balance, the results
aren't worth it.

Though I know this from my own experience and research, I'm not a
medical professional. This link can give further information.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a601068.html

In drug development many normal volunteers are paid by the drug
companies to assess tolerability of the drug in a normal population.
To my knowledge there is no mention of a Parkinsinogenic effect of these agents.
Antipsychotic drugs and an old drug of abuse called MPTP cause Parkinsonism