Effects of night-time use of rotigotine on nocturnal symptoms in Parkinson's disease

Objectives. this open-label study assessed the efficacy and safety of exclusive night-time administration of transdermal rotigotine in patients with nocturnal and early morning pd symptoms. methods. patients with pd and nocturnal and early morning symptoms received transdermal rotigotine patches (2-16 mg/24 h) applied in the evening and removed in the morning for 3 months. sleep disturbance was assessed with modified parkinson's disease sleep scale (pdss-2). other outcomes included a pain visual analogue scale (vas) and short-form parkinson's disease questionnaire (pdq-8) for quality of life. results. 74 patients completed treatment in this study. at the end of treatment,pdss-2 total score had improved by mean 10.9 points from baseline (p < 0.001). all three pdss-2 domain scores (sleep disturbances,nocturnal motor symptoms,and nocturnal symptoms) were also significantly improved by 41%,56%,and 48%,respectively (p < 0.001). vas-pain score decreased from 3.2 to 2.3 (p < 0.001). pdq-8 score decreased from 23.8 to 18.1 (p < 0.001). the most frequently reported adverse events included nausea (9%),anxiety (4%),and dizziness (4%). conclusions. night-time administration of transdermal rotigotine is an effective and well tolerated treatment for nocturnal symptoms in patients with pd. © 2015 francesc vallderiola et al.