(NYSE: AMRX) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the New Drug Application (NDA) for IPX203 for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). IPX203 is a novel, oral formulation of carbidopa/levodopa (CD/LD) extended-release capsules.
Levodopa is the most effective drug for the treatment of symptoms of Parkinson disease. It is particularly effective for helping people who have slowness of movements caused by Parkinson disease, a problem called bradykinesia.
Apomorphine HCl sublingual film (Kynmobi®) Apomorphine is a dopamine agonist whose effects have a rapid onset. It can be used as a rescue medication for someone whose dose of levodopa wears off unexpectedly before the next dose is due. Apomorphine is available as an under the skin injection.
People with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease who regularly walk for exercise may improve their motor function, mood, tiredness, fitness and some aspects of thinking abilities, according to a study published in the July 2, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Currently, there is no cure for Parkinson's Disease (PD) but certain medications do have the capacity to help manage symptoms.
While genetics is thought to play a role in Parkinson's, in most cases the disease does not seem to run in families. Many researchers now believe that Parkinson's results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors, such as exposure to toxins.
How close are we to a cure for Parkinson's? There's currently no cure for Parkinson's. We're pushing to deliver new treatments for Parkinson's in years, not decades. And we're determined to develop a cure in the shortest possible time.
Healthy Eating and Regular Exercise: A Powerful Combo
Studies show targeted nutrition may slow Parkinson's advancement. Eating a whole-food, plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet — including fresh vegetables, fruit and berries, nuts, seeds, fish, olive and coconut oils and more — may be linked to slower PD progression.
These drugs include Prochlorperazine (Compazine), Promethazine (Phenergan), and Metoclopramide (Reglan). They should be avoided. Also, drugs that deplete dopamine such as reserpine and tetrabenazine may worsen Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism and should be avoided in most cases.
Although tremor in particular tends to worsen when a person is anxious or under stress, all the symptoms of PD, including slowness, stiffness, and balance problems, can worsen. Symptoms, particularly tremor, can become less responsive to medication.
Medication aside, there are many ways people living with Parkinson's disease can improve their health and well-being, preserve physical function, ease symptoms and enhance quality of life. Chief among these are getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, staying hydrated and getting an adequate amount of sleep.
Parkinson's disease is caused by a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain called the substantia nigra. This leads to a reduction in a chemical called dopamine in the brain. Dopamine plays a vital role in regulating the movement of the body.
Here are a few suggestions: Assess your medications: Parkinson's drugs boost dopamine production in the brain, and their levels — and that of the dopamine — can vary. “If you're on too low a dose, you may dip into a low dopamine stage that can leave you fatigued,” Rosenthal explains.
It is common for Parkinson's Disease patients to feel weak. They frequently describe their legs as feeling, “like they're made out of lead,” “like they're in concrete.” But they will also feel weak all over, or describe weakness in their hands or arms.
“Movement, especially exercises that encourage balance and reciprocal patterns [movements that require coordination of both sides of your body], can actually slow progression of the disease,” she says.
Parkinson's disease is progressive: It gets worse over time. The primary Parkinson's disease symptoms — tremors, rigid muscles, slow movement (bradykinesia), and difficulty balancing — may be mild at first but will gradually become more intense and debilitating.
Parkinson's disease (PD), like most common disorders, involves interactions between genetic make-up and environmental exposures that are unique to each individual. Caffeinated-coffee consumption may protect some people from developing PD, although not all benefit equally.
In most cases, symptoms change slowly, with substantive progression taking place over the space of many months or years. Many people with PD have symptoms for at least a year or two before a diagnosis is actually made. The longer symptoms are present, the easier it is to predict how a person with PD will do over time.
The reason for the progression of symptoms stems from the ongoing loss of brain cells. At the moment we cannot slow the course of cell loss in Parkinson's, and at the point of diagnosis around half the dopamine-producing brain cells of the substantia nigra may have already been lost.
Most cases of Parkinson's aren't hereditary. But people who get early-onset Parkinson's disease are more likely to have inherited it. Having a family history of Parkinson's disease may increase the risk that you'll get it. This means that having a parent or sibling with Parkinson's slightly increases the risk.