Abstract
Aim: To evaluate safety and efficacy of a transdermal rotigotine for the treatment of fatigue and quality of life (QOL) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This was a multi-sites open-label study of 58 PD patients (male 26, female 32) who met a Japanese PD diagnosis criterion. They received a transdermal rotigotine 4.5 mg/day for 8 weeks. We added a rotigotine on the previous anti-Parkinson’s drugs. Clinical signs were evaluated by Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y) stage, unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS), fatigue severity scale (FSS), and Euro quality of life (QOL). The scores of UPDRS improved from 35.2 ± 8.0 (mean ± SD) to 31.8 ± 8.3 (P = 0.14). There was no significant improvement or worsening of the H-Y stages. The scores of FSS improved from 57.3 ± 12.7 (mean ± SD) to 50.1 ± 11.8 (P = 0.061). The scores of QOL improved from 38.1 ± 11.1 to 48.3 ± 10.0 (P = 0.068). Our data demonstrate that, in a small sample size, administration of a transdermal rotigotine was associated with few side effects and was modestly effective for the treatment of fatigue and QOL in patients with PD.
Highlights
Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) primarily complain motor symptoms such as akinesia, muscle rigidity or involuntary movements [1]-[3]
Clinical signs and severity were evaluated by Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y) stage [2], Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Parts III [13], fatigue severity scale (FSS) [14] and Euro quality of life (Euro QOL) [15]
Concerning severity of motor symptoms, the total scores of unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS) improved from 35.2 ± 8.0 to 31.8 ± 8.3 (Figure 1, P = 0.14), but this was not statistically significant
Summary
Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) primarily complain motor symptoms such as akinesia, muscle rigidity or involuntary movements [1]-[3]. They have been affected by non-motor symptoms, autonomic dysfunction, fatigue, sleep disorders, depression, and so on [4]. Non-motor symptoms occur across all stages of PD. Clinicians point that they may have a more significant impact on patients’ quality of life (QOL) than motor symptoms [5] [6]. Non-motor symptoms have been under-recognized, and their pathogeneses remain unclear. Advent of drug therapy for PD can fairly control motor symptoms, but effect of dopaminergic drugs for non-motor symptoms remains poorly understood
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