Rasagiline: defining the role of a novel therapy in the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a therapy area with considerable unmet needs. The current key targets for PD treatment include the slowing of disease progression, improved control of motor fluctuations in advanced disease and the treatment of non-motor symptoms. In view of such major requirements, it is important to consider how new drug treatments fit into the context of PD therapy, and the practical advantages that they may offer in the management of PD in clinical practice. Rasagiline is a novel, second-generation, irreversible, selective monoamine oxidase type B inhibitor that is indicated for the treatment of idiopathic PD, either as initial monotherapy or as adjunct therapy (with levodopa) for patients experiencing end-of-dose motor fluctuations. This review assesses the outcome from several large-scale clinical studies that have investigated the use of rasagiline in early and advanced PD patient populations and discusses the role of rasagiline within the current scope of PD therapy.