The source of this article is Medical News UK: http://tinyurl.com/crec3

Long term effectiveness of ropinirole In Parkinson's disease
09 Jun 2005

Results from a new 10-year study of patients with Parkinson's disease offer 
hope to those concerned about the disabling effects of dyskinesia, the 
abnormal, involuntary, jerky body movements that result from long-term 
l-dopa therapy. These findings come from one of the first observational 
endeavours to see how long-term treatment can benefit patients with this 
serious disorder.

Presented this week at the 16th International Congress on Parkinson's 
Disease and Related Disorders, the data demonstrate that 10 years after 
commencement of therapy, patients who were initially treated with 
ropinirole, regardless of subsequent therapy, maintained comparable control 
of motor symptoms to patients started on L-Dopa but showed a significantly 
reduced risk for developing dyskinesias, a key disabling feature of 
Parkinson's Disease1.

“It's unusual to be able to conduct a 10-year study of Parkinson's disease 
patients, and we are excited to have followed these patients for a decade,” 
said David Brooks, MD, DSc, Hartnett Professor of Neurology, Imperial 
College London. “The treatment regimens that patients received in the 
follow-up period reflect normal clinical practice and allowed the 
investigators to naturalistically observe the progress of common 
therapeutic regimens.”

Study overview

In this open-label follow-up, patients were allowed to take any treatment, 
giving researchers an opportunity to monitor clinical outcomes in a 
“real-world” setting. Patients had originally completed a five-year study - 
the landmark 056 Study Group - which was designed to compare ropinirole and 
L-dopa therapies for Parkinson's Disease in a tightly controlled, clinical 
environment. Of the original 130 patients that completed the 056 Study 
Group, 69 of them entered the five-year follow-up, and were given 
treatments considered most appropriate by study investigators (‘Ropinirole' 
group = 42; ‘L-dopa' group = 27). Participants' average age was 63 years 
and had the disease for slightly more than two years at the start of the 
original 056 study. Patients were assessed every six months using the 
Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), with symptoms being 
measured based on a change from baseline in the motor and Activities of 
Daily Living (ADL) scores.

Ropinirole: a significant treatment for Parkinson's disease control

Results from the study demonstrated that after 10 years of treatment, 
significantly fewer patients developed dyskinesias in the 
ropinirole-initiated group than those in the L-dopa-initiated group (52.4 
percent vs. 77.8 percent, p = 0.0457). It also took longer for patients 
started on ropinirole to develop dyskinesias than it did for those started 
on L-dopa (8.6 years vs. 7.0 years, p= 0.0065). Ropinirole-initiated 
patients experienced good treatment efficacy, with similar UPDRS motor and 
ADL scores to those who started their care taking L-dopa.

A progressively disabling disease

Parkinson's disease is a devastating, chronic neurological condition 
characterised by progressive disabling disturbances in movement and 
balance.2 It is understood to be caused by loss of dopamine in the neurones 
(nerve cells) in parts of the brain which play a central role in the 
voluntary control of movement.3 The results are characteristic symptoms 
such as bradykinesia (slowness of movement), muscle stiffness, tremor, and 
balance and gait problems.2 According to the World Parkinson's Disease 
Association, more than four million people worldwide suffer from 
Parkinson's disease, making it the most common neurodegenerative disease 
after Alzheimer's.

About GlaxoSmithKline

As one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare 
companies, GlaxoSmithKline is committed to improving the quality of human 
life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

References:

1. Data to be presented at ICPD, BerlinGermany, June 2005

2. Olanow, CW, Watts, RL, Koller, WC. ”An algorithm (a decision tree) for 
the managment of Parkinson's Disease (2001): Treatment Guidelines.” 
Neurology June 2001 56(11 Suppl 5); S1-S88

3. Schwarz, J, Linke, R, Kerner, M, et al. „Striatal Dopamine Transporter 
Binding Assessed by [I-123]IPT and Single Photon Emission Computed 
Tomography in Patients With Early Parkinson's Disease.” Arch Neurol. 2000; 
57:205-208.

Enquiries:
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