28th September 2014 - New research

WEARING OFF IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Parkinsonism Related Disorders [2014] 20 (2) : 204-211 (F.Stocchi, A.Antonini, P.Barone, M.Tinazzi, M.Zappia, M.Onofrj, S.Ruggieri, L.Morgante, U.Bonuccelli, L.Lopiano, P. Pramstaller, A.Albanese, M.Attar, V.Posocco, D.Colombo, G.Abbruzzese) Complete abstract

Wearing off of the effect of drugs for Parkinson's Disease has been found to occur far earlier and in more people with Parkinson's Disease than previously assumed. Wearing off is very individual and there is no standard time frame for when this may occur or which symptoms are experienced. For more information go to Wearing off

Neurologists found that there was wearing off in 57% of people with Parkinson's Disease. However, when this was assessed by the patients themselves, there was found to be wearing off in 67% of people with Parkinson's Disease. Even in people who had Parkinson's Disease for less than 2.5 years there was wearing off in 21% of people when assessed by neurologists and in 41% when patients assessed themselves. The most frequent wearing off symptoms were slowness of movements (55%) and reduced dexterity (48%). Those factors most associated with wearing off were : younger age, female gender, severer symptoms, and duration of treatment.

Wearing Off is already common in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease and is underestimated by routine neurological clinical evaluation. The effect of Parkinson's Disease drugs is therefore often relatively short lived. In order to refer to this article on its own click here

25th September 2014 - New Audiobook

PUT ON YOUR PARKY FACE ! THE EXPANDED VERSION

Bill Schmalfeldt

Publisher's description : Put on your Parky face is a narrated Audiobook about Parkinson's Disease by widely known Parkinson's Disease blogger Bill Schmalfeldt. Bill is serving notice. It's time for Parkinson's disease patients to stop being invisible. It's time for a nationwide effort to raise awareness about this crippling degenerative neurological disorder and the havoc it wreaks. Having had Parkinson's Disease since 2000 at the age of 45, Bill volunteered for experimental brain surgery in 2007. He spins a humorous, poignant, and sometimes angry tale about his life with this progressive neurological condition. He uses his time, focus and energy to help fund the research that will find the cure. 100% of the author proceeds from this book will be donated to Parkinson's research charities. On the web site there is a good audio sample. Click here for more details   In order to refer to this article on its own click here

19th September 2014 - New research

TOZADENANT CLINICAL TRIALS FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Lancet Neurology [2014] 13 (8) : 767-776 (R.A.Hauser, C.W.Olanow, K.D.Kieburtz, E. Pourcher, A.Docu-Axelerad, M.Lew, O.Kozyolkin, A.Neale, C.Resburg, U.Meya, C.Kenney, S.Bandak)  Complete abstract

Clinical trials assessed the use 60mg, 120mg, 180mg, or 240mg tozadenant in people with Parkinson's Disease who were being treated with L-dopa and who had motor fluctuations that involved at least 2·5 hours off-time per day. Tozadenant (SYN115) is an inhibitor of the adenosine 2a (A2a) receptor that is being developed for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. For more information go to SYN115

Compared with the use of a placebo, daily off-time was reduced by more than an hour when taking either 120mg or 180mg tozadenant. The most common adverse events were dyskinesia (16% of people taking 120mg, 20% of people taking 180mg), nausea (11% of people taking 120mg, 12% of people taking 180mg), dizziness (5% of people taking 120mg, 13% of people taking 180mg). Tozadenant, 60 mg twice daily, was not associated with a significant reduction in off-time. Tozadenant, 240 mg twice daily, was associated with an increased rate of discontinuation because of adverse events that occurred in 20% of people taking that dosage.

The researchers concluded that Tozadenant at 120 or 180 mg twice daily was generally well tolerated and was effective at reducing off-time. Further investigation of tozadenant treatment in phase 3 trials is warranted. In order to refer to this article on its own click here

11th September 2014 - New research

ENTACAPONE EFFICACY IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Acta Neurologica Scandinavica [2014] Sep 3 [Epub ahead of print] (M.Kuoppamäki, M. Vahteristo, J.Ellmén, K.Kieburtz) Complete abstract

A retrospective analysis of randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials of entacapone show that it improves Parkinson's Disease symptoms but often at the expense of dyskinesia or nausea. Entacapone is marketed as Comtan. In combination with L-dopa and carbidopa (the active constituents of Sinemet) Entacapone is marketed as Stalevo. For more information go to Comtan

Entacapone improved daily OFF and ON times by 0.8 hours (48 minutes) compared with a placebo. People taking entacapone also did better in the standard Parkinson's Disease symptom questionnaire the UPDRS II, UPDRS III, and also global evaluation. Similar benefits of entacapone were seen in subgroups of patients with and without dopamine agonists or selegiline. Entacapone was generally well tolerated. Dyskinesia and nausea were more frequently reported by people taking entacapone, with 25% getting dyskinesia and 14% getting nausea. There was no difference in reports of hallucinations.

The researchers suggest that results of this pooled analysis of entacapone clinical trials potentially serve as a useful benchmarking data for new therapies, especially those including L-dopa, in people with advanced Parkinson's Disease. In order to refer to this article on its own click here

8th September  2014 - News release

SUBCUTANEOUS LIQUID L-DOPA FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

NeuroDerm have announced that the first patients with severe Parkinson's Disease have been enrolled and dosed in a Phase IIa trial of ND0612H. ND0612H is a high-dose form of liquid L-dopa and carbidopa (which is the same as Sinemet) but which is delivered continuously through subcutaneous administration (via the skin) by a belt-pump. Unlike the most comparable methods of administering L-dopa, no surgery at all is needed.

ND0612H is intended to replace current treatments for people with severe Parkinson's Disease that require highly invasive surgery that is associated with serious side effects.

ND0612L is the low dose drug form intended for moderate Parkinson's Disease. ND0612L has just completed patient enrolment and treatment in a Phase II double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study. ND0612L was shown in previous phase I and phase IIa studies to be safe and tolerable, reaching steady state, clinically meaningful L-dopa blood concentrations.

ND0612L and ND0612H are the first liquid formulations of L-dopa and carbidopa to be administered subcutaneously (via the skin) to conveniently achieve steady state L-dopa plasma levels. L-dopa and carbidopa are otherwise nearly always administered orally, which can cause motor fluctuations and non-motor complications in Parkinson's Disease. For more information go to NeuroDerm In order to refer to this article on its own click here