half-life of approx. 1 hr and is converted into dopamine
mainly be decarboxylation.
L-dopa is rapidly decarboxylated to dopamine also in
the gastroenteric tract; hence, the quantity of L-dopa
reaching the CNS is extremely low. Furthermore, the
presence of excess dopamine deriving from peripheral
decarboxylation in organs external to the CNS may produce
massive side effects.
Should drugs inhibiting peripheral decarboxylation,
such as *** carbidopa, be administered with or before L-dopa
administration, the peripheral conversion of L-dopa into
dopamine would be drastically reduced and higher amounts of
L-dopa would reach the systemic circulation and the brain,
where conversion into dopamine produces the desired
therapeutic effect. Thus, much lower L-dopa doses can have
a high therapeutic effect and, at the same time, produce
lesser side effects.
In such complex pathological situations, the
availability of pharmaceutical compositions capable of
liberating different drugs at successive times would solve a
therapeutic problem also involving a serious social impact,
the treatments being mainly addressed to elderly persons.
23. Conte describes a tablet which is capable of
overcoming prior art problems (col. 3, lines 8-9) and involves
a device for releasing drugs at different rates (col. 3,
lines 35-36).
24. The tablet is said to consist of (col. 3,
lines 38-46):
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