New delivery method improves efficacy of two common Parkinson's disease medications
June 20, 2012 in Parkinson's & Movement disorders
A new delivery method for levodopa/carbidopa, a common dual-drug Parkinson's disease (PD) regimen, significantly improved the duration of the drugs' effectiveness in people with advanced PD, according to research by Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The new method is continuous delivery of an intestinal gel formulation of the therapies, which are traditionally taken orally. The study found that the continuous gel delivery reduced "off" timewhen the medicine's effectiveness wears offby an average of nearly two extra hours per day. The gel also improved "on" time without involuntary movements when patients enjoyed a good response, compared to people taking standard levodopa/carbidopa.
The researchers are presenting their findings at the Movement Disorder Society's 16th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders being held from June 17-21 in Dublin.
Levodopa is the most effective drug for treating PD, reducing tremors, slowness, stiffness, and walking difficulty, and carbidopa helps prevent nausea and vomiting associated with levodopa. After five to 10 years, however, the duration of its treatment benefits wears off and PD-related symptoms return, representing a major source of disability for patients despite the benefits of the drug. This period of ineffectiveness, which can last six hours or more per day, is known as "off" time.
Researchers led by C. Warren Olanow, MD, Henry P. and Georgette Professor and Chairman Emeritus, Department of Neurology and Director of the Bendheim Parkinson Center at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, performed a double-blind study to explore whether continuous delivery of an intestinal gel form of levodopa/carbidopa could reduce "off" time in people with advanced PD. They found that the levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) reduced "off" time by nearly four hours, two hours more than standard oral formulations of levodopa.
"Maintaining a response to oral therapy is a challenge in Parkinson's disease patients, and there is a significant unmet need for a treatment that provides the benefits of the drug without off time or dyskinesia," said Dr. Olanow. "Since it is administered continuously through a pump, LCIG is a promising development that improves outcomes and quality of life in patients with advanced disease."
The research team conducted a 12-week randomized, double-blind trial in 71 PD patients. At the start of the study, the average person had PD for about 11 years and experienced 6.6 hours of "off" time per day. Patients were randomized to receive a continuous infusion of LCIG, delivered through a portable pump connected to a tube implanted in the intestine, plus placebo pills; or placebo gel plus oral levodopa/carbidopa.
Treatment with LCIG was not associated with an increase in troublesome dyskinesia. The most common side effects associated with LCIG treatment involved complications due to inserting the device, abdominal pain, pain during the procedure and nausea.
Provided by
The Mount Sinai Hospital
-
Clinical trial: Intestinal gel reduces 'off' time in advanced Parkinson's disease
Apr 17, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Drug reduces daily 'off' time for Parkinson patients
Apr 02, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Non-dopaminergic drug preladenant reduces motor fluctuations in patients with Parkinson's disease
Feb 10, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Investigational drug may reduce involuntary movements
Apr 12, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Trial Studies New Way to Deliver Parkinson's Medication
Aug 05, 2010 |
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
-
Magnetic field lines through copper
1 hour ago
-
Lagrangian of object with air resistance
3 hours ago
-
Does electromagnetic waves are generated by dc current?
3 hours ago
-
Please check what's in the Ulaby book regarding reflection.
8 hours ago
-
Question in reflection and transmission at oblique incidence.
12 hours ago
-
Is this plasma (picture in thread)
12 hours ago
- More from Physics Forums - Classical Physics
More news stories
New animal model gives insights into mechanisms of Parkinson's disease pathogenesis
In Parkinson's disease, the protein "alpha-synuclein" aggregates and accumulates within neurons. Specific areas of the brain become progressively affected as the disease develops and advances. The mechanism underlying this ...
Parkinson's & Movement disorders
18 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Defective cellular waste removal explains why Gaucher patients often develop Parkinson's disease
Gaucher disease causes debilitating and sometimes fatal neurodegeneration in early childhood. Recent studies have uncovered a link between the mutations responsible for Gaucher disease and an increased risk ...
Parkinson's & Movement disorders
May 23, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Diabetes drug tested in Parkinson's disease patients
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative neurological disorder marked by a progressive loss of motor control. Despite intensive research, there are currently no approved therapies that have been demonstrated to alter the ...
Parkinson's & Movement disorders
May 20, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Faulty energy production in brain cells leads to disorders ranging from Parkinson's to intellectual disability
Neuroscientist Patrik Verstreken of VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and KU Leuven has shown for the first time that dysfunctional mitochondria in brain cells can lead to learning disabilities. The link between ...
Parkinson's & Movement disorders
May 17, 2013 |
4 / 5 (2) |
0
Unleashing the watchdog protein
McGill University researchers have unlocked a new door to developing drugs to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. Collaborating teams led by Dr. Edward A. Fon at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The ...
Parkinson's & Movement disorders
May 09, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Engineered cytomegalovirus protects monkeys from HIV equivalent
(Medical Xpress)—A new study by researchers in the US has shown that an ancient virus can be modified to help in the fight against the simian immunodeficiency virus SIV, which is the equivalent in monkeys ...
Researchers identify first drug targets in childhood genetic tumor disorder
Two mutations central to the development of infantile myofibromatosis (IM)—a disorder characterized by multiple tumors involving the skin, bone, and soft tissue—may provide new therapeutic targets, according to researchers ...
Hormone levels may provide key to understanding psychological disorders in women
Women at a particular stage in their monthly menstrual cycle may be more vulnerable to some of the psychological side-effects associated with stressful experiences, according to a study from UCL.
Are there atheists in foxholes? Study says they're the minority
Ernie Pyle – an iconic war correspondent in World War II – reportedly said "There are no atheists in foxholes." A new joint study between two brothers at Cornell and Virginia Wesleyan found that only ...
Help at hand for people with schizophrenia
How can healthy people who hear voices help schizophrenics? Finding the answer for this is at the centre of research conducted at the University of Bergen.
Going live: Immune cell activation in multiple sclerosis
Biological processes are generally based on events at the molecular and cellular level. To understand what happens in the course of infections, diseases or normal bodily functions, scientists would need to ...