Just hours shy of the United States federal government shutdown, a new inhaled drug to treat Parkinson’s disease was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The approved Levodopa inhalation power (INBRIJA) is the first drug therapy of its kind to treat patients with PD during off periods, in as short a time as 10 minutes, according to a recent MD Magazine report.
Off periods in Parkinson’s patients is a span of time when medication to treat motor and non-motor symptoms is not working optimally. These off periods occur more frequently as the disease progresses and people with PD may become stiff, slow and have difficulty moving. They may also have trouble speaking and begin slurring their words. Levodopa, the gold standard in Parkinson’s drug therapy, usually wears off after about three hours; doctors may prescribe Dopamine to reduce the length of time a patient is “off” but there are some serious side effects to this drug including hallucinations and compulsive behavior.
In clinical trials, Levodopa inhalation significantly improved motor function in patients during an off period. Adverse reactions included cough, upper respiratory tract infection, nausea and discolored mucus coughed up from the airways. The trial excluded patients with asthma, COPD or other recent (in the past five years) chronic respiratory disease.
INBRIJA is expected to be available to patients within the first quarter of 2019.
More than 10 million people globally are living with Parkinson’s and nearly 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with PD each year. The incidence of PD increases with age, and as the worldwide population ages, the burden of the disease will also increase unless prevention and treatment therapies improve. Although Levodopa therapy helps control symptoms, there is no drug that has been shown to slow the disorder’s progressive neurodegeneration.
Learn more about Parkinson’s disease by following this link to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
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