The Debut Of L-Dopa

On this date in 1970, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug L-Dopa, or levodopa. The drug revolutionized the treatment of Parkinson's disease, a disorder of the body's motor system that can cause rigidity in the body, abnormal walking, shaking or tremors, unsteady posture, and slowed movements. L-Dopa and other related drugs help the body make its own dopamine, a neurotransmitter normally produced by a part of the brain called the substantia nigra that is missing in Parkinson patients. Although there is no cure for Parkinson's, some of its symptoms can be eased with L-Dopa and other drugs.