Catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors

The introduction of levodopa therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PD), initially by Birkmayer et al. (1) in 1961, followed by Barbeau et al. (2) in 1962, and in its ultimately successful form by Cotzias et al. (3) in 1967, still represents the defining landmark in the treatment of PD. This dramatic advance did not materialize out of thin air. It was preceded by methodical basic laboratory research in the late 1950s and early 1960s, which formed a groundwork documenting the presence of striatal dopamine deficiency in PD (4-8) and paved the road for the application of this knowledge in the clinical arena.