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in february 2001, "wemove.org" published an updated report on a rasagiline study group that originally appeared in Clinical Neuropharmacology some months earlier. below are the URL and a copy of that short, rather plain-english article: it seems that while both selegiline and rasagiline are 'selective, irreversible MAO-B inhibitors,' apparently the important distinction between the two is that rasagiline does NOT have selegiline's amphetamine-like properties. i guess what's needed now is a study comparing the drugs to each other, rather then their individual efficacy. ariela ************************************************ http://www.wemove.org/emove/article.asp?ID=299 Subject: Rasagiline as Levodopa Adjunct in Fluctuating PD Date: 2/19/01 Rasagiline mesylate, a new MAO-B inhibitor for the treatment of Parkinson's disease: A double-blind study as adjunctive therapy to levodopa JM Rabey, I Sagi, M Huberman, E Melamed, A Korczyn, N Giladi, R Inzelberg, R Djaldetti, C Klein, G Berecz, for the Rasagiline Study Group Clinical Neuropharmacol 2000;23:324-330 Rasagiline may be a modestly effective adjunct to levodopa for patients with motor fluctuations in Parkinson's disease, according to this double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Rasagiline is a selective, irreversible MAO-B inhibitor without selegiline's amphetamine-like properties. Seventy patients were randomized to receive either placebo or rasagiline at 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg. or 2.0 mg per day for 12 weeks. Approximately half of the patients in each group had motor fluctuations, defined as persistent morning akinesia, end-of-dose akinesia, or unpredicted off episodes for 1-25% of waking hours. Six patients dropped out of the study, including two due to falling and syncope while taking 1 mg rasagiline. UPDRS scores were determined at baseline, 12 weeks, and 18 weeks (after 6-week washout). UPDRS improvements were greater for rasagiline than for placebo at all time points and for all doses, but were insignificant due to a "confounding strong placebo effect," according to the authors. The strongest difference between treatment and placebo was seen for fluctuating patients at week 18. Placebo patients showed a 5.7% worsening in total UPDRS, while treated patients showed improvements of 13.4%, 8.3%, and 11.3% for the three doses (p=0.082 for the combined effects vs. placebo). Improvements were primarily seen in motor and ADL scores. Financial support for this study was provided by Teva Pharmaceuticals. ************************************************* ---- Charlotte M <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I was in the trial in 1998-1999 for six months, but not for "off." > This drug is > much like selegiline, Eldepryl. > > Charlotte Mancuso > > Linda J Herman wrote: > > > I received the following message from CenterWatch about clinical > trials in many locations for rasagiline. SEE summary of the study below and the forwarded message. Is anyone already participating in a trial of this drug? > > Linda > > > > "Trial Information > > > > Summary: PRESTO (Parkinson's Rasagiline: Efficacy & Safety in the > > Treatment of "OFF") > > The Parkinson Study Group (PSG), in collaboration with Teva > > Neurosciences, Inc., is conducting a study for patients with moderate > to > > advanced Parkinson's Disease. This 26-week study will examine the > safety, > > effectiveness and tolerability of an investigational drug in patients > who > > do not experience full benefit from their L-dopa dosage. > > > > The study plans to recruit 450 subjects at 59 sites across the United > > States and Canada. Enrollment began in September 2000. For more details, > > contact one of the participating sites near you." > > <http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/stu30215.html> > > > > --------- Forwarded message ---------- > > From: CenterWatch Patient Notification Service <[log in to unmask]> > > Date: Sat Nov 3 06:42:19 2001 > > > > New clinical trials recently posted on the CenterWatch web site at > > http://www.centerwatch.com. __________________________________________________ FREE voicemail, email, and fax...all in one place. Sign Up Now! http://www.onebox.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn