L-Dopa As A Treatment for Catatonia - Essay Example

Levodopa As Treatment for Catatonia Introduction The modern medical and pharmacologic worlds have increasingly progressed to meet the changing needsof clients. For instance, catatonia has affected several individuals, and pharmacology has innovated different drugs to treat the condition over the years. Among those drugs, Levodopa (L-DOPA) is considered as a treatment of catatonia in connection to encephalitis lethargica as pioneered by Dr. Oliver Sacks, initially presenting an overview of the condition and the drug, proceeding to a discussion of Dr.

Sacks’ experiment.Encephalitis lethargica, catatonia, levadopa, and the experiment During the early 1900s, an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica, also called “sleeping sickness,” plagued the world. The condition is characterized by alterations in motor function similar as that of those manifested in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) without “pill-rolling,” muscle rigidity, catatonia, loss of balance, shuffling gait, and oculogyric crisis (Dourmashkin, 1997, p. 515). Focusing on catatonia, it is a neuromuscular condition characterized by alterations in muscle tone or activity, linked to various mental and physical illnesses (“Catatonia,” n.d.).

In encephalitis lethargica, individuals suffer from catatonic stupor, distinguished by the individual’s greatly reduced motor activity. L-DOPA is a medication known to treat Parkinson’s Disease (PD), characterized by decreased levels of dopamine in the brain resulting to altered motor functions. Dopamine is responsible for several body functions, particularly movement when in the brain. Since dopamine itself cannot cross the blood-brain barrier but rather binds to receptors, L-DOPA is given to PD patients, because the latter has the capacity to enter the blood-brain barrier and then be converted into dopamine, thus an increase of the chemical.

With the increase of dopamine in the body, there is increased ability to perform smooth and controlled movements. Because of the great morbidity and mortality caused by the disease, Oliver Sacks conducted an experiment in 1969 among those who did not die of the illness. These patients were chronically confined in a hospital, almost completely motionless and drooling with saliva. Sacks administered L-DOPA in gradual increasing doses over a number of days, and in typical cases the first few days had very minimal changes (Roberts, 1995, p. 311). After a few more days, the patients previously “frozen” and “mute” for decades suddenly “awaken.

” They surprisingly “awoke from their silent, frozen world and for a short few months made contact with the real world about them” (Townsend, 1994, p. 10). In his book Awakenings, he further narrates cases of other patients that generally had the same outcomes. However, because L-DOPA does not replace the lost cells from the basal ganglia, the effect was only temporary (Roberts, 1995, p. 311). As the medication’s effect wears off, patients experience other effects like tics and hallucinations and then relapsing into their previously catatonic state.

Over time, administration of L-DOPA continued, but the effects were the same: a temporary period of normal motor function then relapsing to catatonia. The patients eventually died as they aged.Conclusion The experiment performed by Dr. Oliver Sacks on the chronically catatonic patients became a pioneering avenue of venturing L-DOPA as a treatment of catatonia in encephalitis lethargica. The drug allowed patients to experience normal motor function for several days or weeks, but adverse effects gradually became evident and resulted to relapse.

This experiment may not have entirely succeeded but has undeniably opened doors for further study.ReferencesCatatonia - prevention - causes - symptoms - treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://modernmedicalguide.com/catatonia-prevention-causes-symptoms-treatment/Dourmashkin, R. R. (1997). What caused the 1918-30 epidemic of encephalirtis lethargica? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 90, 515-520.Roberts, T. D. M. (1995). Understanding balance: The mechanics of posture and locomotion. Boundary Row, London: Chapman & Hall.

Townsend, J. (1994). Effectively managing and motivating people. West Berlin, NJ: Townsend International.