title: Rasagiline for the treatment of Parkinson's disease: an update.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rasagiline is a potent, selective, irreversible Monoamine Oxidase-B (MAO-B) inhibitor, developed to prolong the action of dopamine in the brain. It has been demonstrated that rasagiline can improve motor and some non-motor symptoms (NMS) in both early and advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, and it also exhibits neuroprotective and antiapoptotic properties.
  
  
  METHODS
  The objective of this review, performed by a Medline search on the most recent papers investigating the therapeutic effects of rasagiline, is to describe the role of rasagiline in the schedule of treatment of early and advanced PD patients. It will then focus on its role in treating NMS, fatigue, early morning off and cognitive decline, which heavily affect quality of life for PD patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rasagiline is an efficacious, well-tolerated, easy to use drug. The drug has been extensively studied and has proven its efficacy in monotherapy and in combination with any other antiparkinsonian therapy. It proved to be efficacious in reducing 'off' time and in improving early morning 'off' but also some NMS, thus enhancing the therapeutic approach to PD.
authors.affiliation: a Institute for Research and Medical Care, IRCCS San Raffaele Rome - Neurology , Rome, Italy fabrizio.stocchi@tin.it.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stocchi
authors.affiliation: a Institute for Research and Medical Care, IRCCS San Raffaele Rome - Neurology , Rome, Italy fabrizio.stocchi@tin.it.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fossati
authors.affiliation: a Institute for Research and Medical Care, IRCCS San Raffaele Rome - Neurology , Rome, Italy fabrizio.stocchi@tin.it.
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torti
mesh_terms: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005221:Fatigue / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D007189:Indans; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; C031967:rasagiline
keywords: Parkinson’s disease; early morning akinesia; fatigue; levodopa; monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors; motor fluctuations; non-motor symptoms; rasagiline