Repurposed antidepressant agents for treating levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease
About
Dopamine replacement therapy with L-DOPA remains the gold-standard treatment for the crippling movement disruptions affecting >10 million Parkinson's Disease patients worldwide. However, L-DOPA therapies, especially after prolonged use, are associated with painful and disabling abnormal involuntary movements termed L-DOPA induced dyskinesia (LID), which affect nearly 90% of patients within 10 years of commencing treatment. An estimated >2 million Parkinson’s disease patients worldwide will exhibit extremely disruptive LID this year alone. Dr. Christopher Bishop developed a new method for treating LID in Parkinson’s disease, demonstrating for the first time the anti-dyskinetic potential of dual partial 5-HT1A agonist/SSRI agents, including the FDA-approved antidepressants vilazodone (Viibryd) and vortioxetine (Trintellix). The dual-activity antidepressants dramatically reduced LID and maintained these effects for several weeks without altering L-DOPA’s positive anti-parkinsonian effects.
Key Benefits
More effective than currently approved therapy Potent and stable response Reduced side effect profile FDA-approved compounds positioned for rapid repurposing Effective in prevention and treatment of LID in Parkinson’s patients
Applications
Treatment of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease patients