Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of adjuvant treatment to levodopa therapy in Parkinson’s disease patients with motor complications
Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. (7):CD007166 (2010)
A review stating that, of the three main types of oral drugs commonly added to levodopa therapy for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) – dopamine agonists, COMT inhibitors and MAOB inhibitors – dopamine agonists might be the most effective.
This review assessed data from 44 trials involving 8,436 participants. The authors searched for (and analysed data from) randomised trials comparing an orally administered dopamine agonist, COMT inhibitor or MAOB inhibitor versus placebo, both on a background of levodopa therapy, in PD patients experiencing motor complications.
Although the risk of side effects increased with all three types of add-on drugs, patients were most likely to continue treatment when they were taking dopamine agonists. The authors conclude that the greater efficacy and reduced likelihood of patient withdrawal with dopamine agonist therapy possibly outweighs the disadvantage of increased side effects.
