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Excessive
daytime sleepiness can be a problem for patients suffering
from Parkinson's disease, and doctors say they still are not
totally clear on the extent to which use of dopamine drugs
might be a factor.
Daytime
sleepiness in patients with Parkinson's disease is 25 percent
higher than in other neurological diseases, according to researchers
at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.
A study,
published in the Archives of Neurology, analyzed the effects
of dopamine drugs on daytime sleepiness in Parkinson's disease
patients.
Patients
seen during a 7-month period at a center for movement disorders
were tested for the severity of their daytime sleepiness symptoms.
Researchers looked at patient factors including age, drugs
and dosages, duration of disease, and the presence or absence
of dementia, depression or hallucinations.
Researchers
found that the stage of Parkinson's disease, dose of levodopa
and the use of a dopamine agonist are the most common factors
contributing to daytime sleepiness.
However,
researchers report that there are still unanswered questions
as to what causes the variability in sedation levels in these
patients.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of June 23, 2002
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