BMJ  2004;329:581-582 (11 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7466.581

Editorial

Using monoamine oxidase type B inhibitors in Parkinson's disease

They are effective and safe, at least when used alone

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Despite the growth in new drugs for the treatment of idiopathic Parkinson's disease, high quality evidence from randomised controlled trials to guide clinicians on choosing the most appropriate therapy is scarce. Monoamine oxidase type B inhibitors (MAOBIs) have been available for about 30 years. Their popularity was boosted in the 1980s when researchers proposed that they may have a neuroprotective effect and hence alter the natural history of disease rather than merely provide symptomatic relief. Subsequently one report of increased mortality in patients given selegiline with levodopa dented this popularity.¹ In this issue, Ives et al provide us with a useful summary of the trials on MAOBIs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (p 593).²

Of the 17 trials, most are short term studies—only seven have follow up data of over 18 months. In addition, most of the trials compare a MAOBI with placebo. These trials show that . . . [Full text of this article]

Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2PR (Y.Ben-Shlomo@bristol.ac.uk)

Sobell Department of Movement Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG (kbhatia@ion.ucl.ac.uk)

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Parkinson's disease: a journey

Kamran Abbasi
BMJ 2004 329: 0. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Monoamine oxidase type B inhibitors in early Parkinson's disease: meta-analysis of 17 randomised trials involving 3525 patients

Natalie J Ives, Rebecca L Stowe, Joanna Marro, Carl Counsell, Angus Macleod, Carl E Clarke, Richard Gray, and Keith Wheatley
BMJ 2004 329: 593. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• (2005). Carphology by Rajendra. PN 5: 63-63 [Abstract]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Safety issues with dopamine agonists

Marie-Helene Marion, et al.
bmj.com, 6 Oct 2004 [Full text]

Online poll

Find out more >>