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Sinemet is a combination of carbidopa, an aromatic amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor, and levodopa, the metabolic precursor of dopamine, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and syndrome.
Levodopa relieves the symptoms of Parkinson's disease by being decarboxylated to dopamine in the brain. Carbidopa, which does not cross the blood-brain barrier, inhibits the extracerebral decarboxylation of levodopa, making more levodopa available for transport to the brain and subsequent conversion to dopamine.
Sinemet improves overall therapeutic response as compared to levodopa. Sinemet provides effective long-lasting levodopa plasma levels at doses that are approximately 80% lower than those needed with levodopa alone.
While pyridoxine HCl (vitamin B6) is known to accelerate the peripheral metabolism of levodopa to dopamine, carbidopa prevents this action.
