Three different studies have yielded great results in improving the living conditions of people with Parkinson's disease, which ranks the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease, said Robert A. Hauser, MD, MBA, of the University of South Florida in Tampa and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, according to Medical Xpress.
Hauser is also the author for all three studies, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23..
People with Parkinson's disease often experience a sudden drop in blood pressure, which causes dizziness, fainting or falls. The first study focused on these blood pressure related problems, which affects 18 percent of people with Parkinson's. The deficit of a chemical named norepinephrine that is released upon change in posture results in dizziness or falls.
The study included 225 participants, who were treated with a drug called droxidopa, which converts into norepinephrine, or with placebo for eight weeks. Improvement was seen after a week's trial among the group of people who were treated with droxidopa than placebo. A two-fold decrease was seen in the symptoms of dizziness, lightheadedness and there was also a decrease in the number of falls during the 10-week study trial.
The second study was conducted on patients who were experiencing "wearing off," which is a complication that occurs after using the main drug levodopa for several years. This complication is termed as "wear off" considering the effectiveness of levodopa reduces before the next dose. The study included 420 people with the condition who experience an average of 6 hours of "off" time every day. The "off" time is referred to when the effectiveness of the drug is reduced and "on" is when it is working.
These participants received one of four doses of a drug named tozadenant along with their main drug levodopa or received placebo for 12 weeks. As a result, people who received two doses of the drug had one hour of less "off" time every day by the end of the study trial.
The final study included 321 people with early Parkinson's disease whose symptoms were not controlled effectively by dopamine agonist drug. The participants were either treated with a drug named rasagiline or placebo for 18 weeks. Results showed that people who took rasagiline had an improvement on Parkinson's disease rating scale by 2.4 points compared to placebo.
