Entacapone, sold under the brand name Comtan among others, is a medication commonly used in combination with other medications for the treatment of Parkinsons disease. Entacapone together with levodopa and carbidopa allows levodopa to have a longer effect in the brain and reduces Parkinsons disease signs and symptoms for a greater length of time than levodopa and carbidopa therapy alone.Entacapone is a selective and reversible inhibitor of the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). When taken together with levodopa (L-DOPA) and carbidopa, entacapone stops catechol-O-methyltransferase from breaking down and metabolizing levodopa, resulting in an overall increase of levodopa remaining in the brain and body.Carbidopa/levodopa/entacapone (Stalevo), a medication developed by Orion Pharma and marketed by Novartis, is a single tablet formulation that contains levodopa, carbidopa, and entacapone. Medical uses
Entacapone is used in addition to levodopa and carbidopa for people with Parkinsons disease to treat the signs and symptoms of end-of-dose "wearing-off." "Wearing-off" is characterized by the re-appearance of both motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinsons disease occurring towards the end of a previous levodopa and carbidopa dose. In clinical trials, entacapone has not been shown to slow progression or reverse Parkinsons disease.Entacapone is an orally active drug that can be taken with or without food. Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Pregnancy category C: risk is not ruled out.Although there have been animal studies that showed that entacapone was excreted into maternal rat milk, there have been no studies with human breast milk. Caution is advised for mothers taking entacapone while breastfeeding or during pregnancy.
The main goal of this therapy is to make the individual more independent and help them form healthy relationships with the people around them. This is done by improving their self-esteem and confidence.Medication can be used to treat patients with depression or anxiety because of their DPD, but this does not treat the core problems caused by DPD. Epidemiology
Based on a recent survey of 43,093 Americans, 0.49% of adults meet diagnostic criteria for DPD (National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions; NESARC; Grant et al., 2004). Traits related to DPD, like most personality disorders, emerge in childhood or early adulthood. Findings from the NESArC study found that 18 to 29 year olds have a greater chance of developing DPD. DPD is more common among women compared to men as 0.6% of women have DPD compared to 0.4% of men.A 2004 twin study suggests a heritability of 0.81 for developing dependent personality disorder. Because of this, there is significant evidence that this disorder runs in families.Children and adolescents with a history of anxiety disorders and physical illnesses are more susceptible to acquiring this disorder. Millons subtypes
Psychologist Theodore Millon identified five adult subtypes of dependent personality disorder. Any individual dependent may exhibit none or one of the following:

History
The conceptualization of dependency, within classical psychoanalytic theory, is directly related to Freuds oral psychosexual stage of development.