An alternate approach to Parkinson’s

Patients beginning to experience the muscle rigidity and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease typically receive levodopa. This drug spurs nerve cells to replenish depleted supplies of dopamine, an essential neurotransmitter that facilitates muscle movement.

However, some physicians instead prescribe dopamine agonists, drugs that mimic dopamine. These drugs bind to receptors on nerve cells, making them react as they would to dopamine.