Publications by authors named "Constantin Viorelia"

Levodopa-entacapone-carbidopa intestinal gel infusion is a relatively new treatment option for advanced Parkinson's disease. We aimed to describe and analyze the characteristics of de novo levodopa-entacapone-carbidopa intestinal gel therapy in 20 consecutive patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. We assessed the profile of motor complications by evaluating the following: motor fluctuations, dyskinesias, and the freezing phenomenon at baseline (before the testing period) and before discharge.

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Background: For Parkinson disease (PD) patients who have been diagnosed with advanced disease that can no longer be effectively controlled with optimized oral or transdermal medications, a range of device-aided therapies (DAT) are available, comprising either deep brain stimulation or infusion therapies providing continuous dopaminergic stimulation. Levodopa-entacapone-carbidopa intestinal gel (LECIG) infusion is the latest DAT for advanced PD (APD) that was approved in Romania in 2021.

Study Question: What is the experience to date in real-world clinical practice in Romania regarding the efficacy and tolerability of LECIG in APD?

Study Design: A retrospective evaluation of 74 APD patients treated with LECIG at 12 specialized APD centers in Romania.

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Continuous intra-jejunal infusion of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) is a long-term proven and effective treatment in advanced Parkinson's Disease (APD). Efficacy and safety of 16-h administration of LCIG has already been established. Additional benefits of 24-h LCIG administration have been reported in several case series and small clinical studies.

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A high burden of motor and non-motor parkinsonian symptoms is known to have a significant negative impact on the quality of life (QoL) of people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Effective control of these symptoms with therapies that enable patients to maintain a good QoL is therefore a key treatment goal in PD management. When symptom control can no longer be accomplished with oral or transdermal PD treatment regimens, device-aided therapies (DAT), namely levodopa and apomorphine infusion therapies, and deep brain stimulation, are valuable options to consider.

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Article Synopsis
  • Parkinson's disease symptoms can be managed well, but treatment recommendations need improvement based on daily practice observations.
  • This study analyzed the management of advanced Parkinson's disease patients before and after the introduction of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel, focusing on changes over two five-year periods.
  • Results showed that in the later period, patients starting treatment were younger, had a shorter time since diagnosis, and exhibited fewer severe symptoms, although initial conditions were still worse than expert recommendations suggested.
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Advanced Parkinson's disease (APD) cannot be treated efficiently using the classical medications however, in recent decades invasive therapeutical methods were implemented and confirmed as effective. One of these methods makes it possible to continue the levodopa (LD) supplementation as a gel administered directly into the upper intestine. However, there are a number of unanswered questions regarding this method.

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The aim of the COmedication Study assessing Mono- and cOmbination therapy with levodopa-carbidopa inteStinal gel (COSMOS) was to assess the use of levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) as monotherapy in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (APD) in routine clinical practice. COSMOS was an international observational study with one cross-sectional visit and retrospective data collection. In Romania, 95 adult patients with APD on LCIG treatment for at least 12 months were enrolled and stratified according to their LCIG therapy after 12 months: monotherapy (without any add-on PD medication), monotherapy with night PD medication and LCIG + add-on medication.

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Background: In the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease (APD), complex forms of dyskinesia may severely impair the patient's quality of life.

Objective: In the present study, we aimed to analyze the evolution under LCIG therapy of the most important motor fluctuations and complex disabling dyskinesias, including diphasic dyskinesia.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed the characteristics of patients with APD who had at least 30 min of diphasic dyskinesia (DID) in 3 consecutive days, were considered responders and were treated with LCIG in our clinic.

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Unlabelled: Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: Az előrehaladott Parkinson-kór bizonyos fázisában a motoros komplikációk már nem befolyásolhatók hatékonyan a hagyományos orális, illetve transdermalis gyógyszerekkel. Ilyenkor meg kell fontolni, komplex felmérési és döntési folyamatot követően, az invazív eszközös terápiák bevezetését.

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OBSERVE-PD was a cross-sectional, multicountry, observational study conducted in 128 Movement Disorders Centers (MDCs) in 18 countries. Overall, the study enrolled 2615 patients. The aim was to determine the proportion of patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (APD) versus non-APD from MDCs and to uncover the clinical burden of APD, as well as a correlation between overall assessment of APD and several indicators of APD.

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Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disease. In the advanced stages, the continuous delivery of levodopa (LD) as levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) has demonstrated significant improvement of motor and nonmotor complications and improvement of the patients' quality of life (QoL). Despite the growing global experience with this treatment, anumber of unsolved practical issues remain, and currently, the data on the reasons that can lead to the discontinuation of LCIG are scarce.

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Background: There is insufficient data in the literature regarding the real-life, daily clinical practice evaluation of patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (APD). We are not sure what is the upper limit of dopaminergic medication, especially the levodopa (LD) dosage, and how it is influenced by access and suitability to the various add-on and device-aided therapies (DAT).

Objective: This retrospective study explored the profile of APD patients that were considered and systematically evaluated regarding the suitability for DAT.

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Background And Purpose: There is relatively few data regarding the usage of dopaminagonists for the treatment of Parkinson's disease; furthermore, there are no publications regarding Central- and Eastern-European countries. The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of dopamine agonists as a therapeutic option amongst Parkinson's disease patients admitted to the Neurological Clinics of Tîrgu Mures during the last 15 years.

Methods: In our study we investigated the data of all Parkinson's patients treated at our clinics between the 1st of January 2003 and the 31st of December 2017.

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Introduction: In patients older than 70 years there is no valid alternative to progressively introduced substitution therapy. The antiparkinsonian drugs introduced in the last decade to treat Parkinson's disease, especially in its early phases, promised a comparable efficacy in reducing symptoms to levodopa. In younger patients and/or patients with mild symptoms we hoped to delay the motor complications by postponing the start of levodopa therapy.

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The motor and non-motor complications of Parkinson's disease impair the patients' quality of life and limit therapeutical options. There are no clear criteria for 'advanced' Parkinson's disease or for the optimal moment for invasive therapies. There is little evidence regarding the upper limits of levodopa doses, and how these may be influenced by the availability of device-aided therapies.

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Introduction: Selective monoamine oxidase B inhibitors have an accurate place in therapeutical strategy of Parkinsons's disease. In the early stages of the disease, especially in younger patients with milder symptoms, the introduction of levodopa substitution could be efficacious in delaying; in advanced stages they are mainly used to treat motor complications, as an adjunct to levodopa.

Aim: The evaluation of therapeutical strategies used in the neurology clinics of Tirgu Mures County Emergency Clinical Hospital in order to define the role of monoamine oxidase B inhibitors.

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