MovieChat Forums > Awakenings (1991) Discussion > Why did the drug lose its effect?

Why did the drug lose its effect?

posted 10 years ago by Calypso-63
6 replies | jump to latest

I didn't understand why they all went back to their catatonic state, can anyone tell me?
Is it because they weren't allowed a 1000 mg dose of L-Dopa or something?

[–] shelby_lynn17 10 years ago

The side effects were so bad that I think they stopped taking it and returned to their catatonic states.

[–] KSzir 10 years ago

L-Dopa also is supposed to replace a brain chemical that is not being made properly and is supposed to balance the brain's activity out. In some cases L-Dopa can cause other chemicals in the brain or body to over/under produce after long term use and it loses the original benefits. That may have been what happened to Leonard and the others. After working for a brief period, their bodies either started rejecting the L-Dopa or it lost its effectiveness. The coda at the end did mention they tried other drugs as they came onto the market in the future and also got short periods of awakening but none of the drugs could permanently repair or regulate the damage their brains suffered.

[–] fiatlux-1 9 years ago

L-Dopa's effect & absorption in the body unfortunately wears off after a time.
This is true also when it is taken for Parkinson's Disease. It works for a while, then usually stops.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] Brennan-8 9 years ago

That's horrible. What a cruel fate.

[–] SealordJohn 8 years ago

From what I learned on the internet, L-Dopa was a fairly new drug when it was used in 1969 on the catatonic patients depicted in this movie. It's affect on humans was not understood until the early 1960s.

As a result, all of its good and bad side effects might not have been known to doctors back then. Today, medical science has identified how this chemical reacts when taken in combination with many other medications and foods. It is possible that had we known what we do today, the 1969 experiment might have had longer lasting affects. After all, L-Dopa is still prescribed for patients with Parkinson's disease. But we have to be careful with dosages. The body has a tendency to adjust to certain maintenance drugs (drugs taken regularly over a period of time). As a result, sometimes fixed dosages begin to loose their effectiveness and need to be increased. But sometimes, increasing dosages too much can result in other side effects that are more dangerous to the patient. To prevent need to increase dosages too far, other alternative drugs are needed. So far, we have not discovered a safe alternative drug that works as well.

[–] al666940-3 8 years ago

But also because L-Dopa affects (stimulates) OTHER parts of the brain, not just the damaged on by Parkinson's or sleeping sickness.

You simply cannot control the spread of dopamine (the actual chemical) inside the brain, to ensure only the damaged parts get it but not the rest.

Hence at first the miraculous results, and over time the "side effects" as the undamaged brain parts gets more unneeded dopamine and thus start to misfire.