This study looked at 216 people with Parkinson’s over a two-year period who were just beginning to take levodopa medication. The goal was to investigate “the development of motor/nonmotor fluctuations and dyskinesia based on gender.” During these fluctuations, levodopa is less effective or starts “wearing off.” During these “off periods,” both motor and nonmotor symptoms may return or worsen until the next dose of levodopa. Interestingly, the study found that being female was the strongest predictor of whether someone would develop off-period fluctuations and dyskinesia, over a two-year period. In the study, nearly 65% of women had fluctuations while about 53% of the men did. And 14% of the women experienced dyskinesia while only 5% of the men did.
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