Placebo-controlled, double-blind dose-finding study of entacapone in fluctuating parkinsonian patients.

Abstract

We conducted a multicenter randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind parallel-group study in Japanese Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with wearing-off motor fluctuations to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of entacapone as an adjunct to concomitant treatment with levodopa and a dopa decarboxylase inhibitor (DCI). We randomized 341 patients to receive entacapone 100 or 200 mg or placebo per dose of levodopa/DCI for 8 weeks. The primary efficacy variable was on time change while awake, determined by patients' diaries. Mean baseline on time in each group was approximately 8 hours. Mean on time change at final assessment was 1.4 hours each for entacapone 100-mg and 200-mg groups and by 0.5 hours for the placebo group (P < 0.05). The two entacapone doses were equally efficacious. Adverse events occurred in 79 patients (69.9%) in placebo, 82 (72.6%) in 100 mg, and 98 (86.0%) in 200 mg. The most common adverse event with entacapone was an increase in dyskinesias. The overall safety profile was satisfactory in both entacapone groups. In conclusion, both entacapone 100 and 200 mg were equally effective in increasing on time of PD patients with wearing-off fluctuations, although the safety and tolerability profile appeared more favorable for the 100-mg dose.

• Authors: Yoshikuni Mizuno, Ichiro Kanazawa, Sadako Kuno, Nobuo Yanagisawa, Mitsutoshi Yamamoto, Tomoyoshi Kondo
• Journal: Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society (Mov Disord) Vol. 22 Issue 1 Pg. 75-80 (Jan 2007) ISSN: 0885-3185 [Print] United States
• PMID: 17094103 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Comparative Study, Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright 2006 Movement Disorder Society.

Chemical References

• Antiparkinson Agents
• Catechols
• Nitriles
• Levodopa
• entacapone

Topics

• Aged
• Antiparkinson Agents (therapeutic use)
• Catechols (therapeutic use)
• Cross-Over Studies
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Double-Blind Method
• Drug Evaluation
• Drug Therapy, Combination
• Female
• Humans
• Levodopa (therapeutic use)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Nitriles (therapeutic use)
• Parkinson Disease (drug therapy)