Timing of Levodopa Treatment in Parkinson's Disease

June 23, 2005 updated by: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Earlier Versus Later L-Dopa in Parkinson's Disease

The ELLDOPA study is a controlled clinical trial in patients with newly diagnosed PD to determine the optimal timing and dosing with levodopa (Sinemet or its generic equivalents).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The time to begin levodopa therapy has been controversial for many years, and yet every patient with PD, along with his/her treating doctor, needs to make this decision. One school of thought is that levodopa may lead to developing motor fluctuations and involuntary movements, and therefore its introduction should be delayed. The opposing school of thought argues that it is the worsening severity of the disease over time that makes the patient susceptible to these problems, and argues that the best response to levodopa is in the early stages of the illness when an improved quality of life can be optimized with levodopa.

Another debated issue is whether levodopa offers protection or is harmful to the remaining dopamine neurons. The latest studies in tissue culture show that when glia (the brain's supportive cells) tissue is present in addition to the nerve cells, the glia tissue becomes protective against any levodopa toxicity. Because glia tissue is present in brain, the argument has been made that levodopa should not be toxic in living brain tissue. A few studies have been carried out in animal models of PD. Two of these animal studies suggest levodopa is toxic to neurons, and two show that levodopa is not toxic and may actually have a protective effect. So there is no convincing or consistent evidence that levodopa damages dopamine neurons in humans or animal models of PD.

With this uncertainty as to what levodopa may be doing to the remaining dopamine cells in patients with PD, there is a strong need to make the determination in patients as to whether levodopa protects or worsens the progression of PD.

Primary End Point: Progression of PD as determined by change in a PD rating scale, the UPDRS, between baseline examination and examination at Week 42. These two examinations are conducted by a Primary Rater who sees the subjects only twice: at baseline and at Week 42, so as not to be influenced by any effects the subject may have experienced during the 40 week exposure to investigational medication.

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10032
        • Columbia University Health Sciences

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

26 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Early, mild PD, not requiring medications
  • Age 30 or older
  • Duration from time of diagnosis of PD: less than 2 years
  • Hoehn & Yahr Stage 1 or 2
  • Exposure to levodopa or dopamine agonist of 14 days or less

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Masking: Double

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Stanley Fahn, Columbia University Health Sciences

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 1998

Study Completion

February 1, 2004

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 25, 2000

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 25, 2000

First Posted (Estimate)

February 28, 2000

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 24, 2005

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 23, 2005

Last Verified

February 1, 2004

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01NS034796 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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