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Monday, 6 August 2001 5:00 (ET) Health Tips for Monday, 8/6/01. By LIDIA WASOWICZ, UPI Senior Science Writer SKIN PATCH FOR PARKINSON'S A large-scale study indicates a new skin patch may be as effective as traditional oral medications in treating Parkinson's disease. "Patients have access to skin patches for heart disease, for smoking cessation, for motion sickness, and for pain control. We believe this is the first time that a neurodegenerative disorder has been treated with a patch," said Dr. Karl Kieburtz, professor of neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and a lead investigator of the study. "Many groups are exploring new ways of delivering Parkinson's drugs, and this is the first to show success in a large study." The study of 242 patients at 36 sites in North America involved rotigotine, an experimental drug not yet available to patients. Rotigotine is being developed by Schwarz Pharma of Germany and Discovery Therapeutics Inc. The study was funded by Schwarz. The findings were presented at the International Conference on Parkinson's Disease, sponsored by the World Federation of Neurology, in Helsinki. On The Net: Schwarz Pharma http://www.schwarzpharma.com/ Rotigotine CDS, the Parkinson Patch http://www.schwarzpharma.com/strategy/parkinson.html Continuous transdermal dopaminergic stimulation in advanced PD. Rotigotine CDS is an effective treatment which permits patients to lower L-dopa doses. (Friday, 22 June 2001) World Parkinson Disease Association (WPDA) The development of motor complcations in PD has been linked to intermittent stimulation of dopamine receptors. Rotigotine CDS is a lipid-soluble D2 dopamine agonist in a transdermal non-invasive delivery system. In 7 patients with advanced PD, a 2-week escalation dose phase followed by a 2-week dose maintenance phase obtained a significant reduction in "off" time and a decrease of the median daily dose of levodopa from 1,400 to 400 mg. http://www.wpda.org/news.html?n=372 SOURCE: Virtual New York / UPI http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=209035 * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn