eNeuro

Early treatments for Parkinson’s disease

Several powerful medications are available to treat the tremors, stiffness and slow or unsteady movement caused by Parkinson’s disease, yet each has imperfections. Levodopa is the most effective at relieving symptoms, but it has significant side effects. There is great interest in finding effective treatments that postpone its use.

From the archive Richard Rosenbaum, M.D. “Treating motor impairment in Parkinson’s disease”

Motor problems in Parkinson’s are caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain. Two types of drugs that can help reduce symptoms and postpone the use of levodopa are dopamine agonists, such as ropinerole and pramipexole; and selective monoamine oxidase B inhibitors, such as selegiline and rasagiline, which prevent dopamine from breaking down.

Richard Rosenbaum, M.D., medical director of Providence Center for Parkinson’s Disease and a neurologist with The Oregon Clinic, is the site principal investigator of the ANDANTE study, sponsored by Teva Neurosciences. The trial aims to assess the efficacy of rasagiline 1 mg as an add-on treatment to dopamine agonist therapy in patients with early Parkinson’s disease that is not optimally controlled on dopamine agonists.

A strong partnership between a patient’s neurologist and primary care physician is important. It takes time to find the right balance of medications and therapies to optimize motor functions; manage side effects; treat non-motor symptoms as varied as fatigue, pain, constipation and sleep disturbances; and treat neuropsychiatric issues such as depression, hallucinations and dementia.