A 12‑month prospective real‑life study of opicapone efficacy and tolerability in Emirati and non‑White subjects with Parkinson’s disease based in United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Abstract: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, and the condition is complicated by the emergence of wearing of/motor fuctuations with levodopa treatment after a variable period. COMT inhibitors when used as adjunct therapy to levodopa tend to smoothen out these wearing of fuctuations by enhancing delivery of levodopa and increasing its bioavailability to the brain. The study was conducted to investigate the motor and nonmotor efect, safety and tolerability of the third generation once-daily COMT inhibitor (opicapone), as add-on, adjuvant therapy to levodopa and at 6 and 12 months follow-up in a real-life cohort of consecutive Emirati and non-White PD patients. A real-life observational analysis using tolerability parameters as used previously by Rizos et al. and Shulman et al. based on clinical database of cases rat Kings College Hospital Dubai Parkinson care database. This was a prospective, single-arm follow-up clinical evaluation study that evaluated the efectiveness of opicapone 50 mg once-daily regime in 50 patients diagnosed with idiopathic neurodegenerative disorder. All patients were assessed with scales used in clinical pathway and include motor Unifed Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), nonmotor symptom scale (NMSS), quality of life (PDQ8) Parkinson’s fatigue scale (PFS16) and King’s Parkinson’s Pain Scale (KIPS). Out of 50 patients treated with opicapone (72% male, mean age 66.9 years (SD 9.9, range 41–82 years) and mean duration of disease 5.7 years (SD 2.5 range (2–11), there was signifcant statistical improvements shown in motor function-UPDRS part 3: baseline 40.64±2.7, at 6 months 32.12±3.14 and after 12 months 33.72±3.76. Nonmotor burden NMSS: 107.00±21.86, at 6 months 100.78±17.28 and 12 months 96.88±16.11. Reduction in dyskinesias (UPDRS part 4): baseline 8.78±1.07, at 6 months 7.4±0.81 and 12 months 6.82±0.75. Opicapone provides benefcial motor and nonmotor efects in Emirati and other non-White Parkinson’s patients, resident in UAE, proving its efcacy across diferent racial groups as COMT activity may vary between races.