[Apomorphine test in Parkinson disease--dose and corresponding parameters]

Abstract

The apomorphine test is a well known indicator of therapeutic responsiveness to dopaminergic substances and a reliable instrument for the differential diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease. The relationship between apomorphine dosage and the following parameters, namely age, duration of disease, body height, body surface, skinfold thickness of the abdominal wall and the upper arm as a measure of subcutaneous fatty tissue, and amount of administered L-dopa was studied in 45 patients with Parkinson's disease in whom the apomorphine test was positive. In addition we investigated whether different doses of apomorphine resulted in significant differences of the parameters studied. The determined parameters correlated with the given dose of apomorphine (p < 0.05) and thus, represent a potential indicator for optimal L-dopa dose determination and intermittent or continuous apomorphine administration.