FDA approves Apokyn an injectable drug for immobility in Parkinson's patients

Main Category: Parkinson's Disease
Article Date: 22 Apr 2004 - 0:00 PDT


Apokyn, an injectable drug which is used to treat Parkinson's disease patients for bouts of immobility has been approved by the FDA.

Apokyn (apomorphine) is produced by Bertek Pharmaceuticals, Morgantown, WV, USA.

The FDA says it is the first drug on the market designed to treat bouts of immobility in Parkinson's disease patients.

When under review the drug was classed as an orphan drug. This means there are fewer than 200,000 patients in the country with the target symptoms. Apokyn was reviewed under priority status, said the FDA.

The drug will especially help those patients who get stuck, frozen on the spot rather than the ones who have tremors.

WHAT IS PARKINSON'S DISEASE?

Approximately 1 million Americans live with Parkinson's Disease, approximately 40 percent of whom are under the age of 60.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder. In Parkinson's disease, cells that produce the neurochemical dopamine degenerate, causing tremor, muscle stiffness or rigidity, slowness of movement (bradykinesia) and loss of balance.

Although medication masks some symptoms for a limited period, generally four to eight years, they begin causing dose-limiting side-effects. Eventually the medications lose their effectiveness, leaving the victim unable to move, speak or swallow.

Parkinson's is the biological opposite of Alzheimer's disease: while Alzheimer's destroys the mind, leaving the body intact and functioning, Parkinson's destroys the body's ability to function, taking away the physical abilities necessary to daily life while leaving the mind prisoner inside the body.

Although the cause of Parkinson's is unclear, a combination of genetic and environmental factors may be involved. In the January, 1999, Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers concluded that genetic factors play a role of varying degrees in the development of Parkinson's. The findings indicate that genetic components play a more significant role in most cases when the disease begins before age 50 and are a lesser influence when the disease begins after age 50.

WHO DOES PARKINSON'S DISEASE AFFECT?

Approximately 1,000,000 Americans suffer from Parkinson's, with 60,000 more diagnosed each year - one every nine minutes. Approximately 40% are under the age of 60, effectively removing them from the work force. Parkinson's victims remain alive but incapacitated for many years, sometimes decades, requiring a similiar number of family members to be diverted from the work force by their role as caregivers.

We must continue to make the case that every dollar invested in Parkinson's disease will yield savings in the long-term and will improve the quality of life for so many Americans.

From: http://www.parkinsonsaction.org/aboutparkinsons/whatisparkinsons.htm

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