ABSTRACT
Tolcapone (3,4-dihydroxy-4’-methyl-5-nitrobenzophenone) is a reversible inhibitor of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an enzyme responsible for the central and peripheral metabolism of levodopa (1,2). By inhibiting COMT, tolcapone improves the pharmacokinetics of levodopa in patients with fluctuating Parkinson’s disease (PD), thereby providing clinical benefits such as decreased motor fluctuations, increased ontime, decreased off-time, and a reduction of the total levodopa dose (3-8).
