L-DOPA PRODRUG CLINICAL TRIAL RESULTS

Clinical Neuropharmacology [2012] Mar 7 [Epub ahead of print] (Lewitt PA, Ellenbogen A, Chen D, Lal R, McGuire K, Zomorodi K, Luo W, Huff FJ.) Complete abstract

XP21279 is a new chemical entity being developed for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. XP21279 uses naturally-occurring, high-capacity nutrient transporters in the gastrointestinal tract to generate active, efficient absorption into the body. Once absorbed, XP21279 is rapidly converted into L-Dopa, a drug that acts to replace dopamine. For more information go to Xenoport. The L-dopa prodrug XP21279 aims to replace the use of L-dopa, which has many undesirable effects including its rapid breakdown by gastric and peripheral enzymes, only a short duration in the blood after oral consumption, which leads to fluctuation of drug plasma concentrations when taken frequently, and a limited period for possible absorption from the gastrointestinal tract.

In the clinical trial of XP21279, people with Parkinson's Disease were given either XP21279 with carbidopa (which helps to prevent the breakdown of L-dopa), or L-dopa with carbidopa (which is the same combination in Sinemet). With the use of XP21279 there was significantly less variability in the concentration of L-dopa. XP21279 may therefore provide better control of motor fluctuations. Overall, there was a reduction in daily OFF time. There was also more ON time without troublesome dyskinesia. The average time to ON time was not delayed when using XP21279. For a printable version of this article click here.  For more current news go to Parkinson's Disease News.