Subcutaneous Levodopa Infusion for Parkinson's Disease: 1-Year Data from the Open-Label BeyoND Study.

BACKGROUND: Continuous, subcutaneous (SC) levodopa/carbidopa infusion with ND0612 is under development as a treatment for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and motor fluctuations. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate 1-year safety data. METHODS: BeyoND is an open-label study evaluating the long-term safety of two ND0612 dosing regimens. RESULTS: Of the 214 enrolled patients (24-hour SC infusion: n = 90; 16-hour SC infusion: n = 124), 120 (56%) completed 12 months of treatment. Leading causes for study discontinuation were consent withdrawal (19.6%) and adverse events (17.3%). Rates of discontinuation were reduced from 49% to 29% after a protocol revision and retraining. Systemic safety was typical for PD patients treated with levodopa/carbidopa. Most patients experienced infusion site reactions, particularly nodules (30.8%) and hematoma (25.2%), which were judged mostly mild to moderate and led to discontinuation in only 10.3% of the participants. CONCLUSIONS: Subcutaneous levodopa/carbidopa continuous infusion with ND0612 is generally safe, with typical infusion site reactions for SC delivery as the main adverse event. © 2021 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

The Wide Suture Suspension Platysmaplasty, a revised technique for neck rejuvenation: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Restoration of an esthetic neck contour is an integral component of facial rejuvenation. The corset platysmaplasty and the suture suspension neck lift were introduced by Feldman in 1990 and by Giampapa in 1995, respectively. Both techniques are routinely used in current practice with satisfactory and long-lasting results. However, some patients who have undergone the suture suspension platysmaplasty report long-term discomfort, excessive neck tightening, and recurrence of deformity. OBJECTIVE: To achieve an improvement in the Cervicomental (CM) angle and other parameters in patients with a difficult neck and to reduce the probability of long-term discomfort, excessive neck tightening, and a recurrence of deformity. The author developed a new technique that includes a very wide suture suspension with no interlocking. We hereby present a revised suture suspension technique-The Wide Suture Suspension Platysmaplasty. METHODS: Between the years 2015 and 2017, the senior author performed 286 face and neck rejuvenation surgeries with or without blepharoplasty. Of these cases, 35 patients with a heavy neck were chosen for the new Wide Suture Suspension Technique. This was a single surgeon retrospective cohort study. Patients were photographed in a lateral view preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. Pre- and postoperative photographs were compared in four measured parameters: the cervicomental angle, the jowl angle, the horizontal distance between the mentum and the cervicomental angle and the vertical distance between the mentum and the cervicomental angle. RESULTS: The Wide Suture Suspension Platysmaplasty resulted in pleasing esthetics, with minimal complications in patients with difficult necks. The cervicomental angle decreased by 42° (P < .0001), the jowl angle increased by 12° (P < .0001), the horizontal distance between the mentum and the cervicomental angle rose by 12.4% and the vertical distance between the mentum and the cervicomental angle was reduced by 34.5%. CONCLUSION: The Wide Suture Suspension Platysmaplasty resulted in improved esthetics, as demonstrated by objective measurements. None of the patients in this series had any secondary intervention during the follow-up period. Particularly in the case of a difficult neck, surgeons should consider this technique.