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news.AbbVie has announced that a new treatment called Duodopa (levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel) is now available to Canadians with advanced Parkinson's disease.
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Duodopa is approved in Canada for the management of advanced Parkinson’s disease in adults with severe, disabling motor fluctuations and hyper-/dyskinesia (involuntary movements) not satisfactorily controlled by combinations of available oral medicinal products for Parkinson’s disease.
Dr Anthony Lang of the Movement Disorder Centre at Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network noted that a major problem that emerges over time in people with Parkinson’s disease is fluctuations in their ability to move due to unreliable absorption of oral medications.
"This leads to inconsistent delivery of the chemical dopamine which controls movement to the brain resulting in unpredictable motor function," said Dr. Anthony Lang of the Movement Disorder Centre at Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. "DUODOPA is a treatment option that enables patients to regain control over their movements and balance which in turn drastically improves their quality of life."
Parkinson’s disease, which involves significant loss of limb and balance control, is most commonly diagnosed at 50-60 years of age – although diagnosis can occur at a much younger age. The standard treatment for Parkinson’s disease begins with oral therapies, including levodopa, which usually work well during the first years. As the disease progresses, oral therapies no longer provide satisfactory control over severe motor fluctuations and dyskinesia. Now with DUODOPA there is a new option.
Duodopa is indicated for treatment of advanced levodopa-responsive PD with severe motor fluctuations and hyper-/dyskinesia when available combinations of PD medicinal products have not given satisfactory results.
Duodopa provides an effective treatment for people with PD enabling more ‘ON’ time in comparison to oral levodopa. Duodopa was approved in recognition of a high unmet need for effective therapies and no satisfactory alternatives.
It is contraindicated in patients with narrow-angle glaucoma, severe liver and renal insufficiency, severe heart failure, severe cardiac arrhythmia, suspicious, undiagnosed skin lesions or a history of melanoma, acute stroke and in patients taking non-selective MAO inhibitors and selective MAO type A inhibitors.