Efficacy and Safety of Safinamide vs Opicapone as Adjuvant to Levodopa Therapy in Elderly with Parkinson’s Disease: A Network Meta-Analysis
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) becomes a significant health problem in the elderly. This chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease needs to be treated with dopamine agonists as a gold standard. The use of adjuvant therapies like safinamide and opicapone was considered a promising option to achieve a better outcome. However, they not have been compared in randomized controlled trials.
Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of safinamide and opicapone as adjuncts to levodopa therapy in PD treatment.
Method: This systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials were conducted based on the PRISMA NMA Checklist of Items. The outcome of this study was the evaluation of the efficacy (ON-time, OFF-time, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS-III], and the 39-Item Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire [PDQ-39]) and safety of safinamide and opicapone in PD. Effect sizes were analyzed using both pairwise and Bayesian network meta-analyses.
Result: Fourteen RCTs were included in this study. The efficacy analyses showed that safinamide (MD = 0.87 h, 95% CrI = 0.31 - 1.48) was superior in increasing total ON-time compared to opicapone (MD = 0.82 h, 95% CrI = 0.18 - 1.47). Safinamide also showed superiority in reducing OFF-time (MD =-1.33 h, 95% CrI =-2.45 - -0.196), UPDRS-III score (MD =-2.8, 95% CrI =-3.92 - -1.66), and PDQ-39 score (MD =-2.05, 95% CrI =-3.47 - -0.702). Safety analysis also showed that safinamide (OR = 1.04, 95% CrI = 0.83 - 1.3) is more tolerable for older patients than opicapone (OR = 1.32, 95% CrI = 0.95 - 1.81).
Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings support the use of safinamide in elderly patients with PD, which effectively helps levodopa improve ON-time, better tolerating motor and non-motor features during the OFF period, and increasing the quality of life with minimal adverse effects.
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