Co-beneldopa capsule strengths and daily levodopa doses for the GPhC assessment

The manufacturer's UK product information for Madopar (co-beneldopa) states that the hard capsules contain levodopa with benserazide in strengths of 50 mg/12.5 mg, 100 mg/25 mg and 200 mg/50 mg, and that patients not previously treated with levodopa should start with one 50 mg/12.5 mg capsule or dispersible tablet three or four times daily.

The same information states that the daily dosage should then be increased by one 100 mg/25 mg capsule or dispersible tablet, or their equivalent, once or twice weekly until a full therapeutic effect is obtained or side-effects supervene, and that the effective dose usually lies within the range of four to eight 100 mg/25 mg capsules or dispersible tablets daily in divided doses.

It also states that most patients require no more than six 100 mg/25 mg capsules or dispersible tablets daily, and that patients whose disease is at an advanced stage may start with one 100 mg/25 mg capsule or dispersible tablet three times daily.

Each question fixes the values needed for its arithmetic. Write the unit beside every step and distinguish a single dose from a daily total or a supply period. All prescriptions and patients here are fictional; these are revision materials, not for patient care.