Rasagiline in the pharmacotherapy of Parkinson's disease--a review.
Despite the current efficacious symptomatic approaches, the search is on for new therapies for Parkinson's disease that can control the cardinal symptoms of the disease (tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia), control/prevent motor complications induced by long-term levodopa, act on non-motor disease symptoms (dementia, dysautonomia, pain, insomnia, falls) and halt disease progression. Rasagiline is a monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor that has demonstrated efficacy against the cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's disease when used as monotherapy in early Parkinson's disease, and as an adjunct to levodopa in advanced disease stages. It reduces the duration and severity of poor symptom response episodes in fluctuating patients. Preliminary results allow discussion of putative effects of rasagiline on some non-motor signs and disease progression. This article outlines the evidence surrounding the efficacy and safety of rasagiline, and discusses its potential to address some of the currently unmet needs of Parkinson's disease therapy.
Rascol
Olivier
O
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Investigation Center and Neurosciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, 37 Allees Jules Guesde, Toulouse 31073, France. rascol@cict.fr
D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism
D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D007189:Indans; C031967:rasagiline