No, none of the pumps deliver medication via a needle in the arm. When treated with Lecigon or Duodopa, levodopa is continuously pumped via a tube that is surgically implanted in the stomach. The tube opens into the upper part of the small intestine, where the levodopa is absorbed directly. Another way of using a pump is ‘subcutaneously’, which means via a plastic cannula inserted into the subcutaneous fat, usually on the abdomen. At present (December 2023), such a treatment is available, using the dopamine agonist apomorphine, but the first levodopa-containing subcutaneous formulation is also expected to come onto the market in 2024. /Dag Nyholm
