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The Movement Disorder Society Evidence-Based Medicine Review Update: Treatments for the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society
October 1, 2011
Klaus Seppi et al. (11 authors)
Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to evaluate the efficacy of melatonin for the treatment of insomnia in Parkinson's disease patients.

Results Summary

The study found insufficient evidence to conclude efficacy for melatonin (3-5 mg and 50 mg) in treating insomnia in Parkinson's disease patients. No significant adverse effects were reported, but safety was not explicitly assessed.

Population

Parkinson's disease patients with non-motor symptoms, specifically insomnia.

Effective Dosage

3-5 mg and 50 mg (frequency not specified).

Duration

Not specified (studies did not exceed 6 months).

Interactions

None mentioned.

Extracted Claims (40)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
pramipexole
decrease
depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
efficacious
#1
clozapine
decrease
psychosis
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
efficacious
#2
rivastigmine
decrease
dementia
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
efficacious
#3
botulinum toxin A (BTX-A)
decrease
sialorrhea
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
efficacious
#4
botulinum toxin B (BTX-B)
decrease
sialorrhea
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
efficacious
#5
glycopyrrolate
decrease
sialorrhea
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
efficacious
#6
glycopyrrolate
no change
sialorrhea
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence exceeding 1 week
#7
nortriptyline
decrease
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
likely efficacious
#8
desipramine
decrease
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
likely efficacious
#9
macrogol
decrease
constipation
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
likely efficacious
#10
amitriptyline
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#11
paroxetine
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#12
citalopram
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#13
sertraline
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#14
fluoxetine
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#15
atomoxetine
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#16
nefazodone
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#17
pergolide
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#18
Ω-3 fatty acids
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#19
repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#20
methylphenidate
no change
fatigue
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#21
modafinil
no change
fatigue
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#22
amantadine
no change
pathological gambling
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#23
donepezil
no change
dementia
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#24
galantamine
no change
dementia
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#25
memantine
no change
dementia
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#26
quetiapine
no change
psychosis
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#27
fludrocortisone
no change
orthostatic hypotension
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#28
domperidone
no change
orthostatic hypotension
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#29
sildenafil
no change
erectile dysfunction
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#30
ipratropium bromide spray
no change
sialorrhea
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#31
levodopa/carbidopa controlled release (CR)
no change
insomnia
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#32
pergolide
no change
insomnia
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#33
eszopiclone
no change
insomnia
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#34
melatonin 3 to 5 mg
no change
insomnia
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#35
melatonin 50 mg
no change
insomnia
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#36
modafinil
no change
excessive daytime sleepiness
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
insufficient evidence
#37
pergolide
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
not useful
#38
nefazodone
no change
depression or depressive symptoms
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
not useful
#39
olanzapine
no change
psychosis
patients with Parkinson's disease
-
not useful
#40
Abstract

The Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Task Force on Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Review of Treatments for Parkinson's Disease (PD) was first published in 2002 and was updated in 2005 to cover clinical trial data up to January 2004 with the focus on motor symptoms of PD. In this revised version the MDS task force decided it was necessary to extend the review to non-motor symptoms. The objective of this work was to update previous EBM reviews on treatments for PD with a focus on non-motor symptoms. Level-I (randomized controlled trial, RCT) reports of pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions for the non-motor symptoms of PD, published as full articles in English between January 2002 and December 2010 were reviewed. Criteria for inclusion and ranking followed the original program outline and adhered to EBM methodology. For efficacy conclusions, treatments were designated: efficacious, likely efficacious, unlikely efficacious, non-efficacious, or insufficient evidence. Safety data were catalogued and reviewed. Based on the combined efficacy and safety assessment, Implications for clinical practice were determined using the following designations: clinically useful, possibly useful, investigational, unlikely useful, and not useful. Fifty-four new studies qualified for efficacy review while several other studies covered safety issues. Updated and new efficacy conclusions were made for all indications. The treatments that are efficacious for the management of the different non-motor symptoms are as follows: pramipexole for the treatment of depressive symptoms, clozapine for the treatment of psychosis, rivastigmine for the treatment of dementia, and botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) and BTX-B as well as glycopyrrolate for the treatment of sialorrhea. The practical implications for these treatments, except for glycopyrrolate, are that they are clinically useful. Since there is insufficient evidence of glycopyrrolate for the treatment of sialorrhea exceeding 1 week, the practice implication is that it is possibly useful. The treatments that are likely efficacious for the management of the different non-motor symptoms are as follows: the tricyclic antidepressants nortriptyline and desipramine for the treatment of depression or depressive symptoms and macrogol for the treatment of constipation. The practice implications for these treatments are possibly useful. For most of the other interventions there is insufficient evidence to make adequate conclusions on their efficacy. This includes the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline, all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) reviewed (paroxetine, citalopram, sertraline, and fluoxetine), the newer antidepressants atomoxetine and nefazodone, pergolide, Ω-3 fatty acids as well as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of depression or depressive symptoms; methylphenidate and modafinil for the treatment of fatigue; amantadine for the treatment of pathological gambling; donepezil, galantamine, and memantine for the treatment of dementia; quetiapine for the treatment of psychosis; fludrocortisone and domperidone for the treatment of orthostatic hypotension; sildenafil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, ipratropium bromide spray for the treatment of sialorrhea; levodopa/carbidopa controlled release (CR), pergolide, eszopiclone, melatonin 3 to 5 mg and melatonin 50 mg for the treatment of insomnia and modafinil for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness. Due to safety issues the practice implication is that pergolide and nefazodone are not useful for the above-mentioned indications. Due to safety issues, olanzapine remains not useful for the treatment of psychosis. As none of the studies exceeded a duration of 6 months, the recommendations given are for the short-term management of the different non-motor symptoms. There were no RCTs that met inclusion criteria for the treatment of anxiety disorders, apathy, medication-related impulse control disorders and related behaviors other than pathological gambling, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD), sweating, or urinary dysfunction. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence for the treatment of these indications. This EBM review of interventions for the non-motor symptoms of PD updates the field, but, because several RCTs are ongoing, a continual updating process is needed. Several interventions and indications still lack good quality evidence, and these gaps offer an opportunity for ongoing research. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Antiparkinson AgentsAutonomic Nervous System DiseasesCognition DisordersEvidence-Based MedicineHumansMental DisordersMood DisordersParkinson DiseasePsychotropic DrugsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSleep Disorders, IntrinsicTreatment Outcome
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy50/10
Quality80/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations587
Citations/Year41.9
Relative Citation Ratio21.47
NIH Percentile99.5%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.95
Weight Score1.67
Normalized Score0.56
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