It's been nearly three years since I last posted in this thread, and 6 years since I first posted on this topic. Let's see what's happened since.

Under similar conditions to those reported in previous posts, while "off" I took 75mg Stalevo. This time it was taken normally, not dissolved in vitamin C. Details of the tests are shown in the Appendix. I did the side to side tap test every 10 minutes over the course of a single drug dose. To get a feel for the variability of the test I took it twice, the second time four days after the first.

In the graph below, 4 lines are plotted: left hand test 1, right hand test 1, left hand test 2, right hand test 2.

grapefruitJuiceControls.png

Comparing these results with previous ones shows that my tapping speed has remained fairly constant over the last 3 years. This matches my subjective view that my bradykinesia has not changed over that time. But, it does not match my subjective view of the overall impact of the disease, which I believe has worsened over this period. But this decline has been due to new symptoms coming to the fore (e.g. left lean, Pisa syndrome) rather than the old ones getting worse.

Appendix

Results

Test 1: data collected on 25th May, 2019, starting at (T-20) 0200. Previous doses: of Stalevo 9 hours before this one; ropinirole CR and rasagiline 19 hours.

Test 2: data collected on 29th May, 2019, starting at (T-20) 0520. Previous doses: of Stalevo 16 hours before this one; ropinirole CR and rasagiline 22 hours.

Except where otherwise stated, the mean of these two tests is used below. Notation: [x, y] shows the 2013 result, followed by the 2016 result.

Baseline (3 readings).

Mean left = 21.02 [14.34, 22.26] taps, right = 16.73 [12.95, 17.23] taps

After taking the pill until return to baseline (17 readings)
Mean left = 30.57 [25.28, 31.78], right = 24.89 [19.15, 22.88]

Correlation left/right = 0.992 [0.960, 0.977]
Correlation left test 1 / left test 2 = 0.832
Correlation right test 1 / right test 1 = 0.844

The area under the curve and above the baseline (gives a measure of the drug's total effect) = 3009 [2570, 2125] taps.
This figure can be interpreted as the number of extra taps that 75mg of Stalevo buys me.
Endogenous ratio 68% [61%, 72%]

Raw Data

Test 1

Time,LH_Taps, RH_Taps
-20, 20.46, 15.59
-10, 20.43, 16.30
0, 18.31, 15.51
10, 19.48, 14.87
20, 19.95, 15.60
30, 26.85, 21.98
40, 32.35,26.54
50, 35.12, 28.05
60, 35.96, 29.08
70, 34.14, 27.09
80, 34.69, 26.21
90, 35.53, 27.28
100, 33.55, 28.16
110, 34.59, 30.65
120, 33.84, 29.55
130, 30.98, 26.98
140, 30.46, 23.55
150, 23.27, 17.35
160, 18.95, 14.34
170, 18.88, 14.81
180, 17.45, 15.10
190, 19.01, 15.08

Test 2

Time,LH_Taps, RH_Taps
-20, 23.22, 18.05
-10, 21.44, 17.44
0, 22.29, 17.48
10, 21.48, 16.67
20, 22.74, 17.01
30, 34.11, 27.83
40, 33.52, 27.44
50, 34.21, 27.03
60, 35.55, 29.48
70, 35.05, 27.55
80, 32.32, 28.82
90, 33.48, 29.61
100, 35.02, 30.70
110, 34.79, 28.98
120, 35.08, 28.66
130, 35.98, 29.38
140, 33.13, 28.81
150, 32.82, 27.05
160, 29.33, 22.70
170, 22.21, 16.47
180, 20.62, 15.13
190, 20.88, 17.74

John