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The authors studied the pharmacokinetics of levodopa (LD) with and without pramipexole (PPX) in men and postmenopausal women with PD. Patients on stable dose of carbidopa/LD were randomized to receive escalating doses of placebo or PPX over 7 weeks. LD and PPX pharmacokinetics were performed after a single test dose 25/100 of carbidopa/LD, before initiation of PPX or placebo, at 1.5 mg/d and 4.5 mg/d of PPX or placebo. Compared to men, women had greater LD bioavailability. PPX did not alter LD bioavailability, and PPX pharmacokinetics were equivalent in men and women.

Among 200 mothers interviewed in St. Lucia, 82.5% described their pregnancy as unintended and 44% as unwanted; 80% of women having an intended pregnancy and 94.6% having an unintended pregnancy were unmarried and 18.5% were teenagers. Mothers of unintended pregnancies were significantly younger, were of significantly higher parity and had begun sexual relations at a significantly earlier age than mothers of intended pregnancies; and, unlike mothers of planned pregnancies, their desired interpregnancy interval was significantly longer than the actual interval. These results and the sporadic and ineffective use of contraception in St. Lucia emphasize the need for improvements in fertility regulation in that country.