A new drug called rasagiline reduces fluctuations in the control of movement by people with Parkinson’s disease who are being treated with the standard rug levodopa, researchers report.

Rasagiline, or Agilect, has already been shown to improve the movement and functioning of patients with early, otherwise untreated Parkinson’s disease .

In the latest study, Dr. Steven R. Schwid from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York and colleagues studied the effects of rasagiline compared with an inactive placebo in 472 people with Parkinson’s who were on optimal levodopa therapy.

The participants were experiencing at least 2-1/2 hours every day of “off” time when their movements were poorly controlled despite the L-dopa.

During 26 weeks of treatment, “rasagiline treated patients had a nearly 2-hour decrease in daily off time, while placebo treated patients had less than a 1-hour decrease,” Schwid told AMN Health.

Rasagiline treatment also led to significant improvements in several other areas, such as the ability to perform activities of daily living. These benefits were evident 6 weeks after beginning treatment and lasted throughout the treatment period, the team reports in the Archives of Neurology.

“Most importantly,” Schwid said, “these benefits were seen in patients already optimally treated with other Parkinson’s medications and were associated with minimal side effects.”

Based on studies performed to date, “rasagiline is a safe and effective new treatment for PD, on its own in patients with early disease or in combination with other treatments in patients with more advanced problems,” Schwid concluded.

The study was funded by rasagiline’s manufacturer Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd, of Netanya, Israel.

SOURCE: Archives of Neurology, February 2005;62:241-248.