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Subcutaneous apomorphine in late stage Parkinson's disease: a long term follow up

Pietz, Katja ; Hagell, Peter LU and Odin, P (1998) In Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 65(5). p.709-716
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Despite the recent introduction of new peroral drugs as well as neurosurgical methods for Parkinson's disease, treatment of late stage parkinsonian patients remains difficult and many patients become severely handicapped because of fluctuations in their motor status. Injections and infusions of apomorphine has been suggested as an alternative in the treatment of these patients, but the number of studies describing the effects of such a treatment over longer time periods is still limited. The objective was to investigate the therapeutic response and range of side effects during long term treatment with apomorphine in advanced Parkinson's disease. METHODS: Forty nine patients (30 men, 19 women; age range 42-80 years) with... (More)
OBJECTIVES: Despite the recent introduction of new peroral drugs as well as neurosurgical methods for Parkinson's disease, treatment of late stage parkinsonian patients remains difficult and many patients become severely handicapped because of fluctuations in their motor status. Injections and infusions of apomorphine has been suggested as an alternative in the treatment of these patients, but the number of studies describing the effects of such a treatment over longer time periods is still limited. The objective was to investigate the therapeutic response and range of side effects during long term treatment with apomorphine in advanced Parkinson's disease. METHODS: Forty nine patients (30 men, 19 women; age range 42-80 years) with Parkinson's disease were treated for 3 to 66 months with intermittent subcutaneous injections or continuous infusions of apomorphine. RESULTS: Most of the patients experienced a long term symptomatic improvement. The time spent in "off" was significantly reduced from 50 to 29.5% with injections and from 50 to 25% with infusions of apomorphine. The quality of the remaining "off" periods was improved with infusion treatment, but was relatively unaffected by apomorphine injections. The overall frequency and intensity of dyskinesias did not change. The therapeutic effects of apomorphine were stable over time. The most common side effect was local inflammation at the subcutaneous infusion site, whereas the most severe were psychiatric side effects occurring in 44% of the infusion and 12% of the injection treated patients. CONCLUSION: Subcutaneous apomorphine is a highly effective treatment which can substantially improve the symptomatology in patients with advanced stage Parkinson's disease over a prolonged period of time. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Parkinson's disease, apomorphine, dopamine agonist, treatment
in
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
volume
65
issue
5
pages
709 - 716
publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:9810943
  • scopus:0031765885
ISSN
1468-330X
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Caring Sciences (Closed 2012) (016514020)
id
66bd6413-12fd-4e66-9fba-4684010f0dd3 (old id 1113316)
alternative location
http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/65/5/709
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:35:45
date last changed
2022-03-22 05:12:05
@article{66bd6413-12fd-4e66-9fba-4684010f0dd3,
  abstract     = {{OBJECTIVES: Despite the recent introduction of new peroral drugs as well as neurosurgical methods for Parkinson's disease, treatment of late stage parkinsonian patients remains difficult and many patients become severely handicapped because of fluctuations in their motor status. Injections and infusions of apomorphine has been suggested as an alternative in the treatment of these patients, but the number of studies describing the effects of such a treatment over longer time periods is still limited. The objective was to investigate the therapeutic response and range of side effects during long term treatment with apomorphine in advanced Parkinson's disease. METHODS: Forty nine patients (30 men, 19 women; age range 42-80 years) with Parkinson's disease were treated for 3 to 66 months with intermittent subcutaneous injections or continuous infusions of apomorphine. RESULTS: Most of the patients experienced a long term symptomatic improvement. The time spent in "off" was significantly reduced from 50 to 29.5% with injections and from 50 to 25% with infusions of apomorphine. The quality of the remaining "off" periods was improved with infusion treatment, but was relatively unaffected by apomorphine injections. The overall frequency and intensity of dyskinesias did not change. The therapeutic effects of apomorphine were stable over time. The most common side effect was local inflammation at the subcutaneous infusion site, whereas the most severe were psychiatric side effects occurring in 44% of the infusion and 12% of the injection treated patients. CONCLUSION: Subcutaneous apomorphine is a highly effective treatment which can substantially improve the symptomatology in patients with advanced stage Parkinson's disease over a prolonged period of time.}},
  author       = {{Pietz, Katja and Hagell, Peter and Odin, P}},
  issn         = {{1468-330X}},
  keywords     = {{Parkinson's disease; apomorphine; dopamine agonist; treatment}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{709--716}},
  publisher    = {{BMJ Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry}},
  title        = {{Subcutaneous apomorphine in late stage Parkinson's disease: a long term follow up}},
  url          = {{http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/65/5/709}},
  volume       = {{65}},
  year         = {{1998}},
}