Levodopa News and Research

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FDA approves drug as add-on treatment for Parkinson's disease patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xadago (safinamide) tablets as an add-on treatment for patients with Parkinson's disease who are currently taking levodopa/carbidopa and experiencing "off" episodes.

21 Mar 2017

New infusion therapy may help avoid debilitating symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients

Constant infusion of a drug now used intermittently to "rescue" patients with Parkinson's from bouts of immobility may also help avoid these debilitating symptoms and smooth out their movement throughout the day, physician-scientists say.

14 Feb 2017

Investigational diabetes drug that impedes Parkinson's progression getting ready for human trials

A new investigational drug originally developed for type 2 diabetes is being readied for human clinical trials in search of the world's first treatment to impede the progression of Parkinson's disease following publication of research findings today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

7 Dec 2016

Clinical trial to examine effectiveness of diabetes drug to slow or stop progression of Parkinson's

Type II diabetes and Parkinson's disease may not appear to have much in common but a look below the surface reveals important molecular similarities that provide a potential target for fighting Parkinson's.

8 Sep 2016

Research reveals new insights into happy hormone, dopamine

Dopamine is a so-called messenger substance or neurotransmitter that conveys signals between neurons.

1 Sep 2016

UAB researchers uncover vital mechanism for L-DOPA-induced-dyskinesia

Though the drug levodopa can dramatically improve Parkinson's disease symptoms, within five years one-half of the patients using L-DOPA develop an irreversible condition -- involuntary repetitive, rapid and jerky movements.

29 Jul 2016

Leukemia drug increases brain dopamine, lowers toxic proteins linked to Parkinson's or dementia

A small phase I study provides molecular evidence that an FDA-approved drug for leukemia significantly increased brain dopamine and reduced toxic proteins linked to disease progression in patients with Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.

12 Jul 2016

Transplantation of hpNSCs into non-human primates modeled with PD promotes behavioral recovery

A multi-center team of researchers in the U.S. testing the potential of cell therapy for treating Parkinson's disease (PD) has found that grafting human parthenogenetic stem cell-derived neural stem cells (hpNSCs) into non-human primates modeled with PD promoted behavioral recovery, increased dopamine concentrations in the brain, and induced the expression of beneficial genes and pathways when compared to control animals not transplanted with stem cells.

9 Jun 2016

NeuroDerm starts patient enrollment in long-term safety study of ND0612 for treatment of Parkinson’s disease

NeuroDerm Ltd., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing drugs for central nervous system disorders, today announced the start of patient enrollment in a long-term safety study (trial 012) of the company’s continuously administered subcutaneous levodopa/carbidopa formulation used in both ND0612H and ND0612L.

13 May 2016

New clinical trial focuses on respiratory drug ambroxol for treatment of Parkinson's disease

A medication approved to treat various respiratory diseases and that has demonstrated neuroprotective effects in preclinical studies is the focus of a new clinical trial for Parkinson's disease.

23 Feb 2016

Aerobic exercise training may slow progression of Parkinson's disease

You've likely heard this before: Exercise is good for you. It helps your heart, bones, back and more. But here's one thing you might not have heard: Ongoing aerobic exercise may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system.

20 Jan 2016

Weight loss may mark rapid Parkinson’s disease progression

Weight loss in patients with early Parkinson’s disease is associated with worsening motor function, research shows.

19 Jan 2016

Opicapone simplifies levodopa-related motor fluctuation treatment

Once-daily opicapone is effective for the treatment of end-of-dose motor fluctuations in patients receiving levodopa for Parkinson’s disease, phase III study findings show.

23 Dec 2015

Impax's NUMIENT granted EC marketing authorization for symptomatic treatment of adult patients with Parkinson's disease

Impax Laboratories, Inc. today announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for NUMIENT (Levodopa and Carbidopa), a modified-release oral capsule formulation for the symptomatic treatment of adult patients with Parkinson's disease.

25 Nov 2015

SynAgile announces positive results from Phase 2a trial of continuous intraoral LD/CD therapy

SynAgile Corporation, a privately held pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes drug delivery systems using its proprietary OraFuse intraoral technology platform, today announced positive results from a proof-of-concept, Phase 2a, open-label clinical trial of continuous intraoral administration of levodopa-carbidopa (LD/CD).

8 Oct 2015

Olfactory function may inform Parkinson’s prognosis

Olfactory function is preserved in about a quarter of patients with Parkinson’s disease, and may be predictive of disease course, say researchers.

18 Sep 2015

Study reveals why long-term use of L-DOPA leads to dyskinesia

Researchers have discovered why long-term use of L-DOPA (levodopa), the most effective treatment for Parkinson's disease, commonly leads to a movement problem called dyskinesia, a side effect that can be as debilitating as Parkinson's disease itself.

11 Sep 2015

University of Maryland Medicine offers MRI-guided focused ultrasound treatment to Parkinson's patients

University of Maryland Medicine (the University of Maryland Medical Center and the University of Maryland School of Medicine) and its Center for Metabolic Imaging and Image-Guided Therapeutics (CMIT) has begun to use MRI-guided focused ultrasound on a deep structure within the brain related to Parkinson's disease - the globus pallidus.

2 Sep 2015

IQWiG finds no added benefit for safinamide in Parkinson disease

Safinamide (trade name: Xadago) has been available since February 2015 as add-on therapy for the treatment of mid- to late-stage Parkinson disease in adults. In combination with levodopa alone or together with other Parkinson disease medicinal products, this monoamine oxidase (MAO-B) inhibitor is used to help restore dopamine levels in the brain.

20 Aug 2015

Putaminal serotonergic innervation flags levodopa-induced dyskinesia risk

Increased serotonergic fibre innervation relative to dopaminergic fibre availability may be a potential marker of disease progression in Parkinson’s disease patients and a possible warning of levodopa-induced dyskinesia, indicates an in vivo imaging study.

17 Aug 2015