Positive results from analyses of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (Abbott) in patients with Parkinson's Disease

Studies evaluating levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG), from Abbott, in patients with advanced Parkinson's Disease show positive effects in a long-term safety and tolerability trial, as well as secondary endpoint analyses from a Phase III pivotal trial. Data suggests that at week 54, mean daily "off" time (periods of poor mobility) had decreased an average of 4.5 hours, and "on" time (periods of good motor symptom control) without troublesome dyskinesia had increased by 5.1 hours. "On" time with troublesome dyskinesia decreased an average of 0.6 hours. Among the most common adverse effects (AE) were abdominal pain (30.0 percent), procedural pain (21.7 percent) and nausea (16.1 percent) - twenty-six patients (7.3 percent) withdrew due to at least one AE. Additionally a pivotal trial of 71 patients comparing LCIG to standard levodopa-carbidopa immediate release (LC-IR) tablets showed a reduction in mean daily "off" time of 4.0 hours, a statistically significant difference of 1.91 fewer hours spent in "off" time with LCIG compared to LC-IR tablets. Results were presented at the 16th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders.