Milacemide therapy for Parkinson's disease.

The clinical effects of central glutamatergic stimulation by the glycine prodrug milacemide were studied in six patients with Parkinson's disease under double-blind, placebo-controlled conditions. When administered as monotherapy at a single oral dose of 1,200 mg, the drug increased overall parkinsonian severity transiently, mostly due to an effect on rigidity. Milacemide did not, however, alter levodopa-induced dyskinesias. These results support the view that drugs acting on the glutamatergic system can influence motor function in patients with extrapyramidal movement disorders and that pharmaceutical agents that selectively block certain subtypes of glutamate receptors may ameliorate parkinsonian symptoms.