Session Information
Date: Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Session Title: Parkinson's disease: Pathophysiology
Session Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm
Location: Exhibit Hall located in Hall B, Level 2
Objective: Evaluate patient and caregiver opinions into the treatment of OFF episodes in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Background: OFF episodes are fairly common in patients with PD and can occur in ∼50% and ∼70% of patients treated with oral levodopa for 5 and 9 years, respectively (Chen et al. Clin Ther. 2005;276:1701-1724). OFF episodes consist of Morning OFF, unpredictable/sudden OFF, wearing OFF and delayed/no ON of levodopa.
Methods: A survey was sent to 594 patients and caregivers who are diagnosed with PD and have OFF episodes or care for someone who has PD with OFF episodes. The survey queried the following areas: impact to quality of life (QoL), evaluation and diagnosis, treatment awareness and treatment choice.
Results: A total of 120 surveys were included in this study. There were 60 patients with PD (40 with mild PD and 20 with moderate PD) and 60 caregivers who cared for someone with PD (20 with moderate PD and 40 with severe PD). In this survey, OFF respondents indicated that OFF episodes impacted QoL by the level of impairment (i.e., severe PD had a more negative impact on QoL than mild PD). Additionally the more severe the PD the higher the number of OFF episodes/day. The majority of respondents tend to seek medical attention as a result of unpredictable OFF episodes and increased frequency of OFF episodes. The awareness of treatment options is predominantly driven through physician contact. Most of the patients in the survey were treated with levodopa/carbidopa. Patients would like to improve their overall QoL and were open to new treatments to improve symptom control.
Conclusions: In this study, patients and caregivers believed that OFF episodes had a negative impact on QoL. There was a correlation between the number of OFF episodes and impairment level. Most patients and caregivers would be interested in changing therapies if it improved their overall QoL.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
E.J. Pappert, N. deGruyther, A. Agro. Treatment of OFF episodes in Parkinson’s disease: An evaluation of patient and caregiver insights [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2016; 31 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/treatment-of-off-episodes-in-parkinsons-disease-an-evaluation-of-patient-and-caregiver-insights/. Accessed May 14, 2025.« Back to 2016 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/treatment-of-off-episodes-in-parkinsons-disease-an-evaluation-of-patient-and-caregiver-insights/