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Drug Trial Reports Reduced Movements in Parkinson’s Patients

Illustration of brain (NIDA)

(National Institute of Drug Abuse)

A clinical trial of the investigational drug safinamide indicates the drug can reduce dyskinesia or involuntary movements in some patients with mid-to-late stage Parkinson’s disease. The findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Study author Ravi Anand, with Newron Pharmaceuticals in Bresso, Italy, says the 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.” Newron Pharmaceuticals, the developer of safinamide, funded the trial, with Merck Serono in Geneva, Switzerland.

In the randomized, placebo-controlled long-term clinical 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 each participant’s movement ability using the United Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale that measures activities such as tremor, speech, behavior, and mood. The scale also covers daily activities including swallowing, dressing and walking. A specific tool measuring severity of dyskinesia was used as well.

After two years, researchers found 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.

At the start of the study, patients who took the 100 milligram dose had an average score of 3.7 on the rating scale. 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.

Read more: Trial to Test Gene Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease

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