Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
Javascript must be enabled to continue!
Impact of a public health policy on accessibility to levodopa for people with Parkinson’s disease in Brazil
View through CrossRef
Abstract
Background
Access to levodopa remains limited in many low- and middle-income countries. Brazil’s Popular Pharmacy Program dispenses subsidized levodopa nationwide.
Objectives
To assess levodopa dispensing and geographic coverage of Popular Pharmacy units in Brazil.
Methods
Nationwide ecological study. We extracted numbers of levodopa/benserazide and carbidopa/levodopa tablets dispensed from 2020 to 2024, and derived absolute/percent change, annualized growth, and 2024 patient-equivalents of people with PD. Popular Pharmacy coverage was mapped.
Results
In 2024, the Popular Pharmacy Program dispensed levodopa to approximately 15% of Brazilians with PD. There is a North-South gradient for levodopa dispensing through the program, with higher concentrations in the South/Southeast regions and a significant number of municipalities not dispensing levodopa in the North.
Conclusions
The Popular Pharmacy Program is consistent with increased accessibility to levodopa, yet coverage is limited and uneven. These results may guide other countries to elaborate similar health policies to increase accessibility to levodopa.
Title: Impact of a public health policy on accessibility to levodopa for people with Parkinson’s disease in Brazil
Description:
Abstract
Background
Access to levodopa remains limited in many low- and middle-income countries.
Brazil’s Popular Pharmacy Program dispenses subsidized levodopa nationwide.
Objectives
To assess levodopa dispensing and geographic coverage of Popular Pharmacy units in Brazil.
Methods
Nationwide ecological study.
We extracted numbers of levodopa/benserazide and carbidopa/levodopa tablets dispensed from 2020 to 2024, and derived absolute/percent change, annualized growth, and 2024 patient-equivalents of people with PD.
Popular Pharmacy coverage was mapped.
Results
In 2024, the Popular Pharmacy Program dispensed levodopa to approximately 15% of Brazilians with PD.
There is a North-South gradient for levodopa dispensing through the program, with higher concentrations in the South/Southeast regions and a significant number of municipalities not dispensing levodopa in the North.
Conclusions
The Popular Pharmacy Program is consistent with increased accessibility to levodopa, yet coverage is limited and uneven.
These results may guide other countries to elaborate similar health policies to increase accessibility to levodopa.
Related Results
Plasma Concentration of Levodopa in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease
Plasma Concentration of Levodopa in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease
Responses in plasma concentration of levodopa to administration of levodopa alone or combined with the extracerebral decarboxylase inhibitor, Ro 4-4602, were studied in 173 parkins...
Piece by piece: Collaborative mosaic-making for inclusive policy development
Piece by piece: Collaborative mosaic-making for inclusive policy development
This report sets out the findings from one of four projects commissioned by Wellcome Policy Lab to pilot creative approaches to policy development. In this project, Scientia Script...
Genetic silencing of striatal CaV1.3 prevents and ameliorates levodopa dyskinesia
Genetic silencing of striatal CaV1.3 prevents and ameliorates levodopa dyskinesia
AbstractBackgroundLevodopa‐induced dyskinesias are an often debilitating side effect of levodopa therapy in Parkinson's disease. Although up to 90% of individuals with PD develop t...
Modulatory Effect of Levodopa on the Basal Ganglia-Cerebellum Connectivity in Parkinson’s Disease
Modulatory Effect of Levodopa on the Basal Ganglia-Cerebellum Connectivity in Parkinson’s Disease
Abstract
Levodopa has remained the mainstay of medical therapy for Parkinson’s disease since its development in the 1980s. However, long-term medication use is asso...
Benefits of monitoring plasma levodopa in Parkinson's disease patients with drug‐induced chorea
Benefits of monitoring plasma levodopa in Parkinson's disease patients with drug‐induced chorea
AbstractWe studied the temporal patterns of chorea and plasma levodopa profiles in 30 patients with Parkinson's disease whose motor fluctuations were difficult to characterize and ...
Responsibilised Resilience? Reworking Neoliberal Social Policy Texts
Responsibilised Resilience? Reworking Neoliberal Social Policy Texts
Introduction This essay begins with the premise that resilience, broadly defined as positive adaptation despite adversity (Garmezy and Rutter), and resilience building are importa...
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The UP Manila Health Policy Development Hub recognizes the invaluable contribution of the participants in theseries of roundtable discussions listed below:
RTD: Beyond Hospit...
Primary Combination Therapy of Early Parkinson’s Disease
Primary Combination Therapy of Early Parkinson’s Disease
The aim of this multicenter randomized prospective study in patients with early Parkinson’s disease is to differentiate over a 4-year period between levodopa/benserazide monotherap...