Apomorphine in the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Motor fluctuations, refractory to conventional medical management, are one of the most troubling aspects of Parkinson's disease. Apomorphine is a dopaminergic agent that has been known to the medical community for more than a century, but has only recently been developed to treat such motor fluctuations. In this article, the authors review the historical background, structure, mechanism of action, pharmacologic properties, clinical trials, indications and side effects, as well as avenues of further research, of apomorphine.

Keywords::

• apomorphine
• motor fluctuations
• off symptoms
• wearing-off phenomenon

Disclosure

M Stacy is a consultant for Vernalis. This article was independently commissioned and no fee was received for preparation of the manuscript.