Sinemet and Pregnancy: An Overview
Sinemet® (
carbidopa-levodopa) is a prescription medication approved to treat
Parkinson's disease and Parkinson-like symptoms due to other causes. Animal studies indicate that Sinemet may cause problems when used during pregnancy, although the full risks to humans are not known at this time.
Sinemet and Pregnancy Category C
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses a category system to classify the possible risks to a fetus when a specific medicine is taken during pregnancy. Pregnancy Category C is given to medicines that have not been studied in pregnant humans but that do appear to cause harm to the fetus in animal studies. Also, medicines that have not been studied in any pregnant women or animals are automatically given a pregnancy Category C rating.
When given to pregnant rats, Sinemet decreased the number of live pups born. When given to pregnant rabbits, it increased the risk of various birth defects.
Animals do not always respond to medicines in the same way that humans do. Therefore, a pregnancy Category C medicine may be given to a pregnant woman if her healthcare provider believes that the benefits to the woman outweigh any possible risks to the unborn child. Sinemet has not been adequately studied in humans, and there have only been a few reports of women who took the drug during pregnancy (as Parkinson's disease is rare in young women). In these few reported cases, Sinemet did not appear to cause any problems.
