title: Entacapone in elderly Parkinsonian patients experiencing levodopa-related wearing-off: a pilot study.
abstract: Levodopa (LD) provides the most effective symptomatic treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD). Long-term treatment with LD, however, is often associated with the development of response fluctuations. Previous evidence suggests that the short half-life of LD is a major contributor to the development of response fluctuations and the wearing-off phenomenon in particular. Entacapone, a peripheral catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor has been shown to reduce OFF time and increase ON time in several therapeutic trials on PD patients treated with LD experiencing motor fluctuations. However, data are missing on the tolerability and efficacy of entacapone in elderly PD patients. This is of particular relevance, as most PD patients develop LD-related motor fluctuations after several years of disease duration. Here we report that addition of entacapone in a group of 45 elderly PD patients with LD-related motor fluctuations is well tolerated and efficacious in reducing the time, frequency and severity of the OFF periods. These data suggest that the drug can be used safely and efficaciously in elderly PD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy; Unit on Movement Disorders, "Sant'Andrea" Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Clelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pellicano
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Benincasa
authors.forename: Morena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giovannelli
authors.forename: Francesca R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Buttarelli
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ruggieri
authors.forename: Francesco E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Pontieri
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002396:Catechols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D009570:Nitriles / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010865:Pilot Projects
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D002396:Catechols; D009570:Nitriles; D007980:Levodopa; C071192:entacapone