I ask you is tolerance to deprenyl something I need to worry about? (I take 5mg/day)
Two mechanisms I can guess might come into play here. The construction of dopamine itself might be reduced, and the receptors may become less sensitive. Which of these two seem to occur, do they both occur, and is the cumulative down-regulation of the dopamine system enough to completely wipe out, over time, the therapeutic effect?
Also would there be a withdrawal effect?
I have done my own research, but I need help of more knowledgeable forum members. I came across 2 studies that seem to indicate deprenyl could lose its effect due to tolerance:
Attempts to discontinue treatment with deprenyl may aggravate disease symptoms. This suggests a withdrawal period.
"Selegiline. A review of its pharmacology, symptomatic benefits and protective potential in Parkinson's disease.
odest improvements in motor function, and allowing a reduction in levodopa dosage. Indeed, if levodopa dosages are not decreased when selegiline is added to the therapeutic regimen, peak concentration dyskinesias due to levodopa are often exacerbated. However, symptomatic benefits are rarely maintained for more than a year and selegiline is relatively ineffective in allaying the abrupt swings in response to levodopa" - This suggests that after a year there is a tolrence cancels the therapeutic effect (although a year is a suspiciously long time)
Note: overall the studies I read were inconclusive on dopamine tolerance and withdrawal
