The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7195 p557-561
27 April 2002

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American Academy of Neurology (www.aan.com)

Adding entacapone to levodopa may reduce dyskinesia in Parkinson's

Entacapone used in combination with levodopa may be an effective early treatment for Parkinson's disease, say researchers from King's College London.

Professor Peter Jenner, director of the neurodegenerative diseases research centre, and colleagues compared the antiparkinsonian activity of levodopa with levodopa plus entacapone using a primate model of Parkinson's disease. They found that co-administration enhanced symptom control and reduced the occurence and severity of dyskinesias.

"By providing a more continuous stimulation of striatal dopamine receptors, the combination of levodopa and entacapone has the potential to avoid the development of dyskinesias. This supports the notion that levodopa continuous dopaminergic stimulation is important for preventing the priming effect that underlies involuntary movements in Parkinson's disease," Professor Jenner said.

Data from the study, which was supported by Novartis, were presented at the American Academy of Neurology congress in Denver, Colorado last week.

Entacapone (Comtess) is a COMT (catechol-o-methyltransferase) enzyme inhibitor. It is licensed as an adjunct to co-beneldopa or co-careldopa for patients with Parkinson's disease who experience end-of-dose deterioration and who cannot be stabilised on these combination therapies.