title: Homotaurine in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Homotaurine is a natural compound of red algae, which has been demonstrated to have a neuroprotective effect and has been evaluated as a possible therapeutic agent for Alzheimer's disease. This was a single blind, randomized, controlled study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of homotaurine in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and cognitive impairment. Patients were evaluated at baseline and 6 months later. Assessments included, the evaluation of: motor and non-motor conditions and complications (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, UPDRS); disability and quality of life; depression; excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue. An extensive neuropsychological tests battery was administered evaluating specific cognitive domains: memory, phonemic verbal fluency, executive functions and selective visual attention. After baseline testing, patients were allocated to one of the two groups: (A) treatment group: patients treated with homotaurine 100 mg; (B) control group: patients not treated with homotaurine. Forty-seven patients were evaluated at baseline, 24 (51 %) completed the study (PD-homotaurine: n = 11; 44 % and PD-controls: n = 13; 59 %); discontinuation rate was similar across subjects (p = 1.0). Intention to treat analyses to evaluate homotaurine safety showed mild side effects (gastrointestinal upsetting) in 3 patients. Per protocol analyses of homotaurine efficacy showed no difference between groups. Within group analyses showed that PD-homotaurine patients had better score at UPDRS-I at the end of the study compared to baseline (p = 0.017) and at Epworth Sleepiness Scale (p = 0.01). No other differences were found. No significant difference arose for the PD-ctrl group. Homotaurine is a safe drug. Our data suggest a beneficial effect of homotaurine on excessive sleepiness. Future studies are encouraged to confirm this promising role of homotaurine in promoting the sleep/awake cycle in patients with PD.
authors.affiliation: Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK, lucia.ricciardi2@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricciardi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Nigris
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Specchia
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fasano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013654:Taurine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D013654:Taurine; C001355:tramiprosate