Volume : VI, Issue : XI, November - 2016

THE EFFICACY OF PIMAVANSERIN IN THE TREATMENT OF PARKINSON’S DEPENDENT PSYCHOSIS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Dr. Payal Gadre, Dr. Ivan Netto

Abstract :

 Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common degenerative disorder which at times presents as Parkinson’s Dependent Psychosis (PDP). PDP presents with psychotic symptoms in 40% of people with PD.These psychotic symptoms are mainly delusions, hallucinations, illusions and thought disorder.PDP results in an increased caregiver burden leading to institutionalization and increased mortality.Typical and atypical antipsychotics are poorly tolerated. Pimavanserin has shown to be efficacious] and well tolerated.Hence, we felt the need to review the literature in this regard. Data sources: An electronic search was done by us on the following database: www.pubmed.com. A combination of the following search terms ‘Parkinson’s dependent psychosis’ and ‘Pimavanserin’ were used. Study selection: Only randomised clinical trials related to the use of Pimavanserin for the management of PDP in PD were selected. Data extraction: Two studies reported about the efficacy of Pimavanserin for PDP.The data of the two studies was extracted under the following headings –year of publication, author, title of article, aim, sample size, type of study, scales used and Pimavanserin usage (dose, frequency, duration, side–effects &efficacy). Data synthesis: Both were foreign studies published between the years 2010–2016, and both of them received funding. One was a randomised, double–blind, placebo–controlled study of 6 weeks duration, while the other was aphase 2 multicenter study which was a randomized, double blind, placebo–controlled trial of 4 weeks duration, with a 4–week follow–up period.The first study was conducted on 60 patients (14 females + 46 males; mean age 70.9 years),and the second on 199 patients (69 females + 116 males; age >40 years). The Pimavanserin dosage was 20mg once daily in the first study, with possible increases to 40 or 60md OD on days 8th and 15th respectively, while in the second study it was 40mg OD. Conclusion: Both studies concluded that Pimavanserin was efficacious and well tolerated bypatients with PDP. It also reduced care giver burden, improved sleep and had no motor impairment. Hence it is a viable alternative for treating psychosis in patients with PD.

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Article: Download PDF   DOI : 10.36106/ijar  

Cite This Article:

Dr. Payal Gadre, Dr. Ivan Netto, THE EFFICACY OF PIMAVANSERIN IN THE TREATMENT OF PARKINSON¥S DEPENDENT PSYCHOSIS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE, Indian Journal of Applied Research,Volume : 6 | Issue : 11 | November 2016

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