Yes, exclusion criteria includes use of L/C, agonists, and MAO-B inhibitors. Amantadine is allowed. Again, this has nothing to do with drug interactions. It is strictly due to study design as it's a lot cleaner to test a drug's efficacy if it is used alone rather than with other drugs. This would be particularly true if using Azilect, where there are also claims of neuroprotection. In actuality, the criteria is to be drug free at time of the start of trial with the anticipation of remaining that way for 3 months. They aren't expecting participants to remain drug free for the full 3 year trial.

Can you tell us what the dosage amounts and frequency levels are?

Thanks.

The trial is using a 10mg/day dose. 5mg twice a day. The lead investigators determined this to be optimal from the phase 2 trial. For hypertension, you can go up to 20mg. But, more side effects were observed at that dosage.

Anyone who does not have high blood pressure who is thinking of DIY'ing isradipine needs to be cautious.

As Tupelo3 says isradipine is used for hypertension. So, it can be expected to lower blood pressure. This could push someone with already lowish blood pressure, common with PD, dangerously low, especially when you include our slowness to change blood pressure on standing (postural hypotension), again common with PD; resulting in fainting and falling. See your GP.

See:
http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/d...odpressure.pdf

John

I experimented with isradipine some time ago but had to quit as it had me running to the restrooms very frequently. Unlike other calcium channel blockers, it is also a diuretic.

Magnesium is also a very inexpensive calcium channel blocker and will cause loose stools too when you take too much!

Unfortunately, magnesium would not help as a calcium channel blocker for PD. There are many different calcium channels. The channels linked to PD are L-type. Mg is primarily a N-type Ca channel blocker and only has minimal L-type activity. Isradipine is primarily a L-type blocker, and the reason why it was chosen for PD research.