The Benefits of Duopa™ for People with Parkinson’s

Duopa post - Davis Phinney Foundation

Carbidopa-levodopa is known as the gold standard medication used to treat Parkinson's. However, as Parkinson's progresses, the effectiveness of the medication at the same dose decreases, and many people begin looking for alternatives. One such option is called Duopa™, which is delivered through a pump directly into your intestines to improve absorption and has been shown to decrease OFF time.

We recently sat down with Sharon Jung, a nurse practitioner at Puget Sound Neurology in Tacoma, WA, to discuss Duopa™. In this video, we address common questions from the Parkinson's community, including how effective Duopa™ is, who is a good candidate for it and how it interacts with deep brain stimulation (DBS). You can watch the video below.

 

One quick update since we filmed the video: At one point Sharon said that most MRI scans cannot be done after DBS. In some situations, patients can have MRI scans after DBS. In others, they cannot. However, with the new technology, there is more MRI compatibility. For example, Boston Scientific just received FDA approval for Full-Body MRI access* for the Vercise Gevia™ DBS System. You can find out more about it here.

More Resources

Levodopa-carbidopa enteral suspension in advanced Parkinson's disease: clinical evidence and experience

How effective is Duopa for treating Parkinson's disease?

Is Duopa for me? The pros and cons of the Duopa pump

Duopa by Abbvie home page

WANT TO WATCH MORE HELPFUL PARKINSON'S VIDEOS?

Our YouTube channel includes videos on a variety of topics from a series on care partners with Connie Carpenter-Phinney to Ask the Parkinson's Expert to our series of webinars. Be sure to check out more of our videos here, and don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more current information on how to live well with Parkinson's.

Share this post on social:

To receive our electronic newsletter and other updates, sign up now.

Related Posts

Comments (2)

My husband received the first duodopa pump treatment in 2015 in our city of Ottawa, ON. . It was life-changing for him and we highly recommend it if it is recommended for you. Unfortunately he had to have it removed 4 months ago because the little ‘bumper’ inside the stomach that holds the tube in place broke through the stomach wall and skin, showing up beside the stoma – a rare incident. It has taken over 4 months to heal but we hope he will be able to have a new insertion of the tube soon. He has lost a lot of ground on the pills (Stalevo) taken every 2 hours in the interim. He was diagnosed with PD 21 years ago and is now 79 years of age, still mobile with a walker, and with some dementia. Yes, the pump is cumbersome, but given how well he managed on it for 4 years, we wouldn’t have traded it.

Hi June – Thank you for reading/watching. I’m so glad your husband found the pump helpful. I hope he heels quickly and is able to get a new one inserted. Best wishes.

Comments are closed.

Back to top