How much has lobbying for carbidopa levodopa bettered the health of Americans?
For one, it unfortunately does little for the non-motor symptoms of PD. Secondly, because of its short half-life, levodopa requires frequent dosing. Even in conjunction with carbidopa, a decarboxylase inhibitor that prevents peripheral breakdown, the half-life is a mere 90 minutes and the duration of action only three to four hours. Finally, this recurrent cycle of medication kicking in and then wearing off with each administration leads to oscillations in plasma drug concentrations that, with chronic use (five to 10 years), contribute to motor complications in a sizable number of patients.
How much does levodopa cost in the US?
The cost for carbidopa/levodopa oral tablet (25 mg-100 mg) is around $14 for a supply of 30 tablets, depending on the pharmacy you visit.
Quoted prices are for cash-paying customers and are not valid with insurance plans.
According to Fortune Business Insights.
The global Parkinson's disease drugs market size was valued at US dollars (USD) $4,500.0 million in 2018, and is projected to reach USD $8,383.2 million by the end of 2026, exhibiting a growth rate of 8.1%.
A lot of money can be made selling these little yellow dope pills, while stifling better solutions.
Are the expensively suited lobbyists:
- Pedaling low prices,
-
Selling millions, - Addicting tens of millions,
- Marketing millions for 55 + years--and the Parkinson's problems continue to multiply,
- Creating more catch 22 unwelcome surprises for patients and profits for the doping industry?
- Are we doing enough research, clinical studies, and investments in cutting-edge answers like lasers, ultra-high frequency sound, portable neurological stimulators?
- When was the last time your doctor considered the side effects of carbidopa levodopa, and not-so-distant cousins?
- Isn't five-plus decades enough time to start pushing the medical industry to look for better solutions?
Excuse me if this essay has not been smooth and trouble free to read. I am trying to get back to tremor-free writing, eating, walking, sleeping, and reading. The journey has not been easy.
If you would like to read or listen to an audio book try The Brain's Way of Healing by Norman Doidge, MD. Here's what the book cover says :
Norman Doidge, M. D. is a psychiatrist, a psychoanalyst, and the New York Times best selling author of the Brain That Changes Itself, which was chosen by the Dana Foundation from over 30,000 titles as the best general book on the brain. It has sold over a million copies around the world. He is on the Research Faculty of the Center for Training and Research at Columbia University's Department of Psychiatry in New York City, and on the faculty of the University of Toronto's Department of Psychiatry. He lives in Toronto.
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