Short-term effect of a single levodopa dose on micturition disturbance in Parkinson's disease patients with the wearing-off phenomenon

We investigated the short-term effects of a single dose of levodopa (L-dopa) on micturition function in PD patients with wearing-off phenomenon. Eighteen PD patients who had median Hoehn and Yahr scores of 5 during the off phase and 3 during the on phase were recruited. We carried out urodynamic studies before and about 1 hour after the patients had taken 100 mg of L-dopa with dopa-decarboxylase inhibitor (DCI). After taking the L-dopa/DCI, urinary urgency and urge incontinence aggravated, whereas voiding difficulty was alleviated in all 12 patients. When compared to the baseline assessment, urodynamic study results after taking 100 mg of L-dopa/DCI showed aggravated detrusor hyperreflexia; decreased maximum bladder capacity (P = 0.006); an increased maximum Watts Factor value (P = 0.001), reflecting the detrusor power on voiding; an increased Abrams-Griffiths number (P = 0.042), reflecting urethral obstruction on voiding; decreased residual urine volume (P = 0.025); and increased static urethral closure pressure (P = 0.012). One hundred milligrams of L-dopa/DCI worsened detrusor hyperreflexia, producing worsened urinary urgency and urge incontinence during the storage (bladder-filling) phase. It also increased detrusor contractility much more than it did urethral obstruction in the voiding phase, producing overall lessening of voiding difficulty and improving voiding efficiency in our PD patients with the wearing-off phenomenon. (C) 2003 Movement Disorder Society.