17th May 2013 - New research

PRELADENANT CLINICAL TRIAL RESULTS FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Movement Disorders [2013] Apr 15 [Epub ahead of print] (S.A.Factor, K.Wolski, D.M.Togasaki, S.Huyck, M. Cantillon, T.W.Ho, R.A.Hauser, E.Pourcher) Complete abstract

Preladenant is a selective adenosine A2A receptor antagonist under investigation for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. Instead of directly stimulating the formation or activity of dopamine, which is what most Parkinson's Disease drugs do, it can indirectly affect the dopamine receptors, which is what dopamine agonists affect.  Two other drugs of this type that are being investigated are istradefylline (fairly unsuccessfully) and caffeine, which is in coffee, tea and cola drinks.

Preladenant was taken in 5mg dosages twice a day alongside L-dopa for nine months. Adverse reactions caused 14% of people to cease taking it. Adverse reactions experienced by some people were dyskinesia and constipation. Preladenant provided reductions in "off" time by between 1 hour 24 minutes and 1 hour 54 minutes. "On" time increased by between 1 hour 12 minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes. For a printable version of this article click here. For more news go to Parkinson's Disease News.

UPDATE : Merck are discontinuing Preladenant because it failed to show any benefit beyond that of a placebo in three studies concerning Preladenant. The results of these studies will be presented at a scientific meeting and will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. For more information click here.