Enhancement of Stroke Rehabilitation With Levodopa

Inclusion Criteria:

• Acute ischemic or hemorrhagic (i.e. intracerebral hemorrhage excluding subarachnoidhemorrhage and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis) stroke ≤ 7 days prior torandomization

• Clinically meaningful hemiparesis (i.e. scoring a total of ≥ 3 points on thefollowing NIH stroke scale score items (i) motor arm, (ii) motor leg, (iii) limbataxia; a distal arm paresis is equivalent to one of the aforementioned (i-iii))

• Time of randomization ≥24-hours since thrombolysis or thrombectomy

• In-hospital rehabilitation required

• Capable to participate in standardized rehabilitation therapy

• Informed consent of patient or next of kin

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease

• Use of Levodopa mandatory according to judgement of treating physician

• Inability or unwillingness to comply with study procedures including adherence tostudy drug intake (orally, or via nasogastric tube or percutaneous endoscopicgastrostomy tube)

• Severe aphasia (i.e. unable to follow two-stage-commands)

• Previously dependent in the basal activities of daily living (defined as modifiedRanking Scale prior to stroke > 3)

• Pre-existing hemiparesis

• Known hypersensitivity to Levodopa/Carbidopa and other contraindications forLevodopa/Carbidopa as outlined in the summary of product characteristics

• Women who are pregnant or breast feeding, or who intend to become pregnant duringthe course of the study. Women of childbearing age must take a pregnancy test to beeligible for the study.

• Lack of safe contraception, defined as: Female Participants of childbearingpotential, not using and not willing to continue using a medically reliable methodof contraception for the entire study duration, such as oral, injectable, orimplantable contraceptives, or intrauterine contraceptive devices, or who are notusing any other method considered sufficiently reliable by the Investigator inindividual cases. Female Participants who are surgically sterilized /hysterectomized or post- menopausal for longer than 2 years are not considered asbeing of child- bearing potential.