The study covered in this summary was published on MedRxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed.
Key Takeaways
D1/5 agonists may offer potential benefit for patients with late-stage Parkinson's disease (LsPD).
Caregiver perspectives with mixed method analyses may overcome limitations in standard rater/clinician-based evaluations.
Further studies are warranted and need to integrate caregiver input as an essential component of outcome evaluations.
Why This Matters
Patients with LsPD experience many nonmotor symptoms, including anxiety/depression, pain, sleep disorders, cognitive decline, apathy, and social withdrawal, some of which predate motor dysfunction.
As PD patients advance to LsPD, there is a high burden for family and caregivers, and higher healthcare costs compared with early and mid-stage patients.
Current pharmacotherapy has limited efficacy and intolerable side effects in LsPD patients whose daily life depends primarily on caregivers and palliative care.
Because postsynaptic cytoarchitecture in patients with LsPD is largely preserved despite dopamine neuron degeneration, targeting one or more of the postsynaptic dopamine receptor populations could offer marked therapeutic benefit.
Study Design
A double-blind controlled phase 1a/1b study compared the D1/5 agonist PF-06412562 to levodopa/carbidopa in six patients with LsPD.
Assessments included standard quantitative scales of motor function, alertness, and cognition at baseline and thrice daily during drug testing.
