title: Reduction of gastrointestinal symptoms in Parkinson's disease after a switch from oral therapy to rotigotine transdermal patch: a non-interventional prospective multicenter trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), due to both the disease itself and anti-PD drugs. We hypothesized that transdermal drug administration may result in fewer GI problems. This prospective observational study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01159691) investigated effect of switching to rotigotine transdermal patch from oral anti-PD medications in patients with PD and existing GI symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were enrolled if their physician was planning to switch them to rotigotine because of GI symptoms experienced while receiving oral anti-PD medications. Effectiveness assessments included a visual analog scale (VAS) measuring intensity of GI symptoms from 0 (no disorder) to 100 mm (extremely severe disorder), a questionnaire on the frequency and intensity of six individual GI complaints (heartburn, bloating, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea), each rated 0-12 for a sum score of 0-72, and patient satisfaction regarding GI symptoms over approximately 6 weeks after switching.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 75 patients who received rotigotine, 58 had follow-up data available for final analysis. Intensity of GI complaints improved numerically on both the VAS (47.5 ± 24.4 mm [n = 65] at baseline, 19.7 ± 23.3 mm [n = 58] after around 6 weeks) and the sum score of GI complaints (11.2 ± 9.0 at baseline, 2.1 ± 4.4 [n = 58] after around 6 weeks). Fifty of 58 patients were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" regarding GI symptoms over around 6 weeks following switch to the patch.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that a switch from oral anti-PD medications to rotigotine transdermal patch may improve existing GI symptoms among patients with PD. Additional controlled studies are needed to confirm this finding.
authors.affiliation: St Josef-Hospital Universitätsklinik, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: Dirk.Woitalla@ruhr-uni-bochum.de.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Woitalla
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kassubek
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Timmermann
authors.affiliation: UCB Pharma, Monheim am Rhein, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lauterbach
authors.affiliation: UCB Pharma, Monheim am Rhein, Germany.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berkels
authors.affiliation: UCB Pharma, Monheim am Rhein, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grieger
authors.affiliation: St. Joseph-Hospital, Berlin-Weissensee, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013764:Tetrahydronaphthalenes / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D057968:Transdermal Patch
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D013764:Tetrahydronaphthalenes; D013876:Thiophenes; C047508:rotigotine
keywords: Dopamine agonist; Gastrointestinal; Non-motor; Parkinson's disease; Rotigotine