Meta-analysis of Placebo-controlled Clinical Trials of Safinamide and Entacapone as Add-on Therapy to Levodopa in the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Schnitker ◽  
Thomas Müller ◽  
◽  

Chronic levodopa (L-dopa) treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients is sooner or later associated with the onset of motor complications, for example wearing off and dyskinesia. PD patients with motor complications usually require the addition of further PD drugs to reduce these L-dopa side effects and enhance its efficacy. Entacapone is an available catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor, which was extensively investigated as add-on to L-dopa/dopadecarboxylase inhibitor (DDCI) application in PD patients. Safinamide, a watersoluble, orally active a-aminoamide derivative, which modulates dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission with a unique dual mechanism of action, has been studied in two placebo-controlled clinical trials as add-on therapy to L-dopa in fluctuating PD patients. To date, there are no head-to-head clinical trials comparing the efficacy of safinamide and entacapone in the clinic. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine effect sizes of safinamide and entacapone as add-on treatment to L-dopa in fluctuating PD patients. A systematic search of the literature on entacapone trials up to the end of September 2014 was first conducted on the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases in order to identify appropriate studies. Definition criteria for inclusion were prospective, randomised, placebocontrolled and double-blinded trials on the efficacy and safety of entacapone or safinamide in fluctuating L-dopa-treated PD patients. Four studies for entacapone and two trials on safinamide were considered. Data from the safinamide trials were provided by Zambon and therefore ‘safinamide’ was not used as a search term. Safinamide and entacapone treatment was comparable in terms of the main efficacy variables (offtime, percentageontime, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale). Significant advantages in favour of safinamide were shown in terms of the total incidence of adverse events (AEs) in comparison to placebo, the study discontinuation due to AEs and deaths and in the risk differences of the AEs versus placebo, particularly for nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness, urine abnormality and shortness of breath. The odds ratio (OR) of 0.907 for any AE corresponds to an overall AE rate of 68.7 % for safinamide whereas the OR of 2.089 to an overall AE rate of 84.4 % for entacapone.

2021 ◽  
pp. 154596832110231
Author(s):  
Kishoree Sangarapillai ◽  
Benjamin M. Norman ◽  
Quincy J. Almeida

Background. Exercise is increasingly becoming recognized as an important adjunct to medications in the clinical management of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Boxing and sensory exercise have shown immediate benefits, but whether they continue beyond program completion is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of boxing and sensory training on motor symptoms of PD, and whether these benefits remain upon completion of the intervention. Methods. In this 20-week double-blinded randomized controlled trial, 40 participants with idiopathic PD were randomized into 2 treatment groups, (n = 20) boxing or (n = 20) sensory exercise. Participants completed 10 weeks of intervention. Motor symptoms were assessed at (week 0, 10, and 20) using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-III). Data were analyzed using SPSS, and repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted. Results. A significant interaction effect between groups and time were observed F(1, 39) = 4.566, P = .036, where the sensory group improved in comparison to the boxing group. Post hoc analysis revealed that in comparison to boxing, the effects of exercise did not wear off at washout (week 20) P < .006. Conclusion. Future rehabilitation research should incorporate similar measures to explore whether effects of exercise wear off post intervention.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Leodori ◽  
Maria Ilenia De Bartolo ◽  
Daniele Belvisi ◽  
Alessia Ciogli ◽  
Andrea Fabbrini ◽  
...  

AbstractWe aimed to investigate salivary caffeine content, caffeine absorption and metabolism in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and verify whether salivary caffeine can be used as a biomarker of PD. We enrolled 98 PD patients and 92 healthy subjects. Caffeine and its major metabolite, paraxanthine, were measured in saliva samples collected before and 4 h after the oral intake of caffeine (100 mg). We measured caffeine absorption as the normalized increase in caffeine levels, and caffeine metabolism as the paraxanthine/caffeine ratio. The Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III, the Hoehn & Yahr, the presence of motor complications, and levodopa equivalent dose (LED) were assessed and correlated with caffeine levels, absorption, and metabolism. The effects of demographic and environmental features possibly influencing caffeine levels were also investigated. Caffeine levels were decreased in patients with moderate/advanced PD, while caffeine levels were normal in patients with early and de-novo PD, unrelated to caffeine intake. Caffeine absorption and metabolism were normal in PD. Decreased salivary caffeine levels in PD were associated with higher disease severity, longer duration, and the presence of motor complications, no significant association was found with LED. Salivary caffeine decrease correlates with PD progression.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Michael Bartl ◽  
Mohammed Dakna ◽  
Sebastian Schade ◽  
Tamara Wicke ◽  
Elisabeth Lang ◽  
...  

Background: The MDS-Unified Parkinson’s disease (PD) Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) is the most used scale in clinical trials. Little is known about the predictive potential of its single items. Objective: To systematically dissect MDS-UPDRS to predict PD progression. Methods: 574 de novo PD patients and 305 healthy controls were investigated at baseline (BL) in the single-center DeNoPa (6-year follow-up) and multi-center PPMI (8-year follow-up) cohorts. We calculated cumulative link mixed models of single MDS-UPDRS items for odds ratios (OR) for class change within the scale. Models were adjusted for age, sex, time, and levodopa equivalent daily dose. Annual change and progression of the square roots of the MDS-UDPRS subscores and Total Score were estimated by linear mixed modeling. Results: Baseline demographics revealed more common tremor dominant subtype in DeNoPa and postural instability and gait disorders-subtype and multiethnicity in PPMI. Subscore progression estimates were higher in PPMI but showed similar slopes and progression in both cohorts. Increased ORs for faster progression were found from BL subscores I and II (activities of daily living; ADL) most marked for subscore III (rigidity of neck/lower extremities, agility of the legs, gait, hands, and global spontaneity of movements). Tremor items showed low ORs/negative values. Conclusion: Higher scores at baseline for ADL, freezing, and rigidity were predictors of faster deterioration in both cohorts. Precision and predictability of the MDS-UPDRS were higher in the single-center setting, indicating the need for rigorous training and/or video documentation to improve its use in multi-center cohorts, for example, clinical trials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaopeng Wen ◽  
Kunbin Li ◽  
Hao Wen ◽  
Qian Wang ◽  
Zhiyuan Wu ◽  
...  

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the effects of the combination of acupuncture-related therapies with conventional medication compared with conventional medication in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).Methods: A literature search within eight databases [including Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biology Medicine (CBM), VIP, and Wanfang Database] was performed covering a time frame from their inception to August 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing acupuncture-related therapies combined with conventional medication vs. conventional medication in patients with PD were eligible. Two authors independently assessed the risk of bias. Assessments were performed with the total and subscales scores of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), 39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), the dosage of Madopar, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). Data were analyzed by adopting the Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.4 (Review Man, Copenhagen, Denmark); and mean effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were estimated. Tests for heterogeneity were used to assess differences in treatment effects across different types of acupuncture used.Results: Sixty-six trials met the inclusion criteria, of which 61 trials provided data for the meta-analysis. We defined high-quality articles as those with a low risk of bias in four or more domains; and only 10 (15.15%) articles were of high quality. Compared with the controls, acupuncture-related therapies with conventional medication achieved a benefit in the primary outcomes of UPDRS (motor subscore: −3.90, −4.33 to −3.49, P &lt; 0.01; total score: −7.37 points, −8.91 to −5.82, P &lt; 0.001; activities of daily living subscore: −3.96, −4.96 to −2.95, P &lt; 0.01). For the subgroup difference test among the effects of different acupuncture methods, significant differences existed in outcomes with the UPDRS-III, UPDRS-I, UPDRS-IV, and PDQ-39 scores and Madopar dosage, while non-significant differences existed with the UPDRS-total, UPDRS-II, HAMD, and MMSE scores.Conclusions: Acupuncture-related therapies combined with conventional medication may benefit individuals with PD. Our review findings should be considered with caution because of the methodological weaknesses in the included trials. Future, large randomized trials of acupuncture-related therapies for PD with high methodological quality are warranted.Systematic Review Registration: Identifier CRD42021228110.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Cheng-Long Xie ◽  
Lin Lu ◽  
Deng-Lei Fu ◽  
Guo-Qing Zheng

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common and debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that needs long-term levodopa administration and can result in progressive deterioration of body functions, daily activities and participation. The objective of this meta-analysis evaluates the clinical efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) as an adjunct therapy for PD patients. Methodological issues include a systematic literature search between 1950 and April 2011 to identify randomized trials involving CHM adjuvant therapy versus western conventional treatment. The outcome measures assessed were the reduction in scores of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and adverse effects. 19 trials involving 1371 participants were included in the meta-analysis. As compared to western conventional treatment, CHM adjuvant therapy resulted in greater improvement in UPDRS I, II, III, IV scores, and UPDRS I–IV total scores (P<0.001). Adverse effects were reported in 9 studies. The side effects in CHM adjuvant therapy group were generally less than or lighter than the conventional treatment group. In conclusion, CHM adjuvant therapy may potentially alleviate symptoms of PD and generally appeared to be safe and well tolerated by PD patients. However, well-designed, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials are still needed due to the generally low methodological quality of the included studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 232
Author(s):  
Esteban Peña ◽  
Carmen Borrué ◽  
Marina Mata ◽  
Juan Carlos Martínez-Castrillo ◽  
Araceli Alonso-Canovas ◽  
...  

Background: We aimed to assess the effects of safinamide on depression, motor symptoms, and the serotonin syndrome related to its co-administration with antidepressants in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients at 1 and 3 months of follow-up compared to baseline. Results: n = 82 (safinamide 50 mg = 22, 100 mg = 60, with antidepressants = 44). First, we found improvement in depression (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: −6 ± 5.10 at 1 month and −7.27 ± 5.10 at 3 months, p < 0.0001; Patient Global Impression of Improvement Scale: 60.3% and 69.5% of patients at 1 and 3 months reported some improvement). Second, safinamide improved the daily life activities and motor symptoms/motor complications (Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-II): −2.51 ± 6.30 and −2.47 ± 6.11 at 1 and 3 months, p < 0.0001; III: −3.58 ± 8.68 and −4.03 ± 8.95 at 1 and 3 months, p < 0.0001; IV: −0.61 ± 2.61 and −0.8 ± 2.53 at 1 and 3 months, p < 0.0001). Third, 7.31% and 8.53% of patients developed non-severe adverse events related to safinamide at 1 and 3 months. Serotonin syndrome was not observed in the patients treated with antidepressants; some isolated serotonin syndrome symptoms were reported. Conclusions: Safinamide could be useful for treating depression in PD; it was effective for motor symptoms and motor complications and safe even when co-administered with antidepressants.


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