The effect of COMT inhibition with entacapone on cardiorespiratory responses to exercise in patients with Parkinson's disease.

The inhibition of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) may impair catecholamine clearance resulting in unwanted cardiac and hemodynamic events. We therefore studied the effects of entacapone, an inhibitor of peripheral COMT, on cardiorespiratory and plasma noradrenaline (NA) responses to exercise and on respiratory muscle strength in l-dopa treated patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).