INFLUENCE OF LEVODOPA CARBIDOPA ON BODY-TEMPERATURE IN CHILDREN/

In a multidisciplinary study of the efficacy and tolerability of levod opa/carbidopa in a pediatric population, oral body temperature was mea sured during two 7-week longitudinal dosing studies. In study 1, 15 ch ildren received 0.55/0.14 mg/kg of body weight of levodopa/carbidopa t hree times daily; in study 2, 13 children received 1.02/0.25 mg/kg. Ei ght children participated in both studies, and follow-up measurements of body temperature were obtained 4 to 6 weeks after the termination o f dosing. The results revealed that, from baseline to the end of the 7 -week dosing regimen, mean oral body temperature was unchanged in the 0.55/0.14 mg/kg group but significantly (F = 5.06, P < 0.002) decrease d, by about 1.2 degrees F, in the 1.02/0.25 mg/kg group. At follow-up, after discontinuing study medication, oral body temperature was simil ar between the groups. Mean temperatures in the eight patients who par ticipated in both studies were similar to those in both total study gr oups of children. The results suggest that levodopa or its main catech olamine metabolite, dopamine, may be involved in homeostatic thermoreg ulatory control. The anatomical substrates involved in the control of body temperature and the influence of catecholamines are discussed. Th e results have implications for treatment with levodopa/carbidopa.