Authors: Myllylä, V.¹; Haapaniemi, T.¹; Kaakkola, S.²; Kinnunen, E.³; Hartikainen, P.⁴; Nuutinen, J.⁴; Rissanen, A.⁵; Kuopio, A. M.⁵; Jolma, T.⁶; Satomaa, O.⁶; Heikkinen, H.⁷

Source: Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, Volume 114, Number 3, September 2006 , pp. 181-186(6)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

Myllylä V, Haapaniemi T, Kaakkola S, Kinnunen E, Hartikainen P, Nuutinen J, Rissanen A, Kuopio AM, Jolma T, Satomaa O, Heikkinen H. Patient satisfaction with switching to Stalevo: an open-label evaluation in PD patients experiencing wearing-off (Simcom Study).

Acta Neurol Scand 2006: 114: 181-186. © Blackwell Munksgaard 2006. Objectives and methods - 

This study investigated the ease with which 52 Parkinson's disease patients already receiving adjunct entacapone to traditional levodopa were switched to Stalevo® (levodopa/carbidopa/entacapone). Results - 

The switch to Stalevo was straightforward for most patients taking standard-release levodopa with 86% of these patients being able to replace their entire regimen without having to change the amount of levodopa taken. The majority of patients (54%, P = 0.162) preferred Stalevo; 31% preferred their prior treatment regimen; 15% had no preference. Patients found Stalevo more simple to dose (94%), more convenient to use (84%), easier to handle (84%), easier to remember (67%) and easier to swallow (59%), compared with their previous medication. Conclusions - 

Stalevo was well tolerated, with a low incidence of adverse events. The study shows that Stalevo is an effective, preferred and well-tolerated means of delivering levodopa/carbidopa/entacapone in one easy-to-use tablet.

Keywords: COMT inhibition; dopa-decarboxylase inhibition; levodopa; Parkinson's disease; Stalevo

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0404.2006.00703.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Neurology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland 2: Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland 3: Department of Neurology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland 4: Department of Neurology, University Hospital and University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland 5: Department of Neurology, Jyvaskyla Central Hospital, Jyvaskyla, Finland 6: Satakunta Central Hospital, Pori, Finland 7: Orion Corporation, Orion Pharma, Espoo, Finland

Publication date: 2006-09-01

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• By this author: Myllylä, V. ;  Haapaniemi, T. ;  Kaakkola, S. ;  Kinnunen, E. ;  Hartikainen, P. ;  Nuutinen, J. ;  Rissanen, A. ;  Kuopio, A. M. ;  Jolma, T. ;  Satomaa, O. ;  Heikkinen, H.

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