Author: Elizabeth Marglin

There are 2 main categories of drugs for Parkinson’s Disease, and both have powerful side effects: levodopa, which makes many patients shaky with dyskinesia, and dopamine agonists, which can make turn people into gamblers, sex addicts or hit them with ‘sleep attacks’ — including when they’re driving. This is the story of DA. At least 1 million people in the US and an estimated 10 million worldwide live with Parkinson’s, making it the second most common neurodegenerative disorder (Alzheimer’s ranks first). Parkinson’s disease, a disorder of the central nervous system, is caused by a degeneration of nerve cells in certain…

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Although there’s no cure for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), it’s not a death sentence. Despite the tremors, rigidity, fatigue and a potentially dramatic cycle of on and off periods in which one’s ability to move with ease is greatly affected, it is possible to live a fairly normal life — with the right medication like Levodopa. James Morgan, a partner at global law firm Squire Patton Boggs, speaks for many people with PD when he says, “I would be nonfunctional without the drugs.” Patients have found medications for Parkinson’s to be effective in easing symptoms, but the 2 main drugs prescribed…

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