Investigational drug may reduce involuntary movements
April 12, 2011 in Neuroscience
Results of the first randomized, placebo-controlled long-term clinical trial show the investigational drug safinamide may reduce dyskinesia or involuntary movements in mid-to-late stage Parkinson's disease. The findings will be presented as late-breaking research at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9, 2011, in Honolulu.
"Our findings over a two-year treatment period suggest that taking safinamide in addition to levodopa and other dopaminergic treatments could help patients who continue to experience tremors and involuntary movement problems," said study author Ravi Anand, MD, a consultant with Newron Pharmaceuticals in Bresso, Italy. "These results are an important step forward in understanding how safinamide impacts patients with severe Parkinson's disease. Symptoms of Parkinson`s disease, motor fluctuations and dyskinesia can greatly affect a person's daily living and quality of life."
For the two-year study, 669 patients with mid-to-late stage Parkinson's disease who were already taking levodopa and other dopaminergic treatments were given 50 or 100 milligrams of safinamide per day or a placebo pill. Scientists tested participant's movement ability using the United Parkinson's disease rating scale that measures activities such as tremor, speech, behavior, mood and daily activities including swallowing, dressing and walking. A specific tool measuring severity of dyskinesia (DRS) was used in addition as primary efficacy endpoint.
At the start of the study, patients who took the 50 milligram dose of safinamide had an average score of 3.9 compared to a score of 3.4 for those taking a placebo pill. Patients who took the 100 milligram dose had an average score of 3.7.
After two years, researchers discovered in a post-hoc analysis that safinamide at 100 milligrams a day on top of taking levodopa reduced dyskinesia, or movement problems, by 24 percent in the one-third of participants who had scored a four or higher on the dyskinesia rating scale at the beginning of the study compared to those taking a placebo. There were no significant differences for people who took the 50 milligram dose.
There were no significant differences in the primary efficacy measure (movement control, i.e., dyskinesia) scores in the overall population. Side effects were comparable among the three treatment groups.
Provided by
American Academy of Neurology
-
Non-dopaminergic drug preladenant reduces motor fluctuations in patients with Parkinson's disease
Feb 10, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New discovery in Parkinson's research
Nov 24, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Drug reduces daily 'off' time for Parkinson patients
Apr 02, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Drug improves tremors, involuntary movements in Parkinson patients
Jan 02, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Parkinson's disease treatment strategies appear to have similar long-term effects on disability
Mar 09, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Pressure-volume curve: Elastic Recoil Pressure don't make sense
13 hours ago
-
If you became brain-dead, would you want them to pull the plug?
May 17, 2013
-
MRI bill question
May 15, 2013
-
Ratio of Hydrogen of Oxygen in Dessicated Animal Protein
May 13, 2013
-
Alcohol and acetaminophen
May 13, 2013
-
Marie Curie's leukemia
May 13, 2013
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests
Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or ...
Neuroscience
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Temporal processing in the olfactory system
The neural machinery underlying our olfactory sense continues to be an enigma for neuroscience. A recent review in Neuron seeks to expand traditional ideas about how neurons in the olfactory bulb might encode information about ...
Neuroscience
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Melon focus headband turns to Kickstarter for rollout plans
(Medical Xpress)—What if the quality of your work depends more on your focus on the piano keys or canvas or laptop than your musical or painting or computing skills? If target users can be convinced, they ...
Neuroscience
May 17, 2013 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Deep brain stimulation: A fix when the drugs don't work
Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families.
Neuroscience
May 17, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Brain makes call on which ear is used for cell phone
If you're a left-brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear, according to a newly published study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Neuroscience
May 16, 2013 |
2 / 5 (2) |
0
|
New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health
An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).
AIDS science at 30: 'Cure' now part of lexicon
Big names in medicine are set to give an upbeat assessment of the war on AIDS on Tuesday, 30 years after French researchers identified the virus that causes the disease.
US psychiatry gets makeover in new manual
The latest makeover to a massive psychiatric tome honored by some, reviled by others and even called the "Bible" of mental disorders is being released Saturday with a host of new changes.
New case of SARS-like virus in Saudi: ministry
A new case of the deadly coronavirus has been detected in Saudi Arabia where 15 people have already died after contracting it, the health ministry announced on Saturday on its Internet website.
New colonoscope provides ground-breaking view of colon
A ground-breaking advance in colonoscopy technology signals the future of colorectal care, according to research presented today at Digestive Disease Week(DDW). Additional research focuses on optimizing the minimal withdrawal ...
Flesh-eating disease victim gets prosthetic hands
(AP)—A woman who lost both hands, her left leg and right foot after contracting a flesh-eating disease has been fitted with prosthetic hands.