Living with Parkinson ’ s
Dr . Dolhun Talks PD
Photo by Chad Batka
Thinking about New Therapies
Rachel Dolhun , MD , is a movement disorder specialist , board-certified neurologist and vice president of medical communications at MJFF .
Over the past 18 months , three new therapies for Parkinson ’ s disease ( PD ) completed the long development journey and took their rightful place “ on pharmacy shelves ,” where they can help people with PD .
In 2015 , two novel levodopa formulations — Duopa and Rytary — gained U . S . Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) approval . In early 2016 , Nuplazid ( pimavanserin ) became the first drug approved to treat Parkinson ’ s disease psychosis .
Today ’ s Parkinson ’ s development pipeline is bursting at the seams with potential new treatments , and several more drugs — for sudden “ off ” periods ( when symptoms unexpectedly return ) and dyskinesia ( uncontrolled involuntary movements ) — are anticipated to cross the finish line to patients within the next one to two years . This is great news — speeding new drugs to treat more of Parkinson ’ s disease is the 10
The Fox Focus mission of The Michael J . Fox Foundation . So we rejoice at the progress and hope represented by every approval , and the wider variety of options to help patients manage their disease .
We recognize , however , that the advent of new drugs also raises questions about whether and how to integrate them into a Parkinson ’ s treatment regimen .