Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel: is the naso-jejunal phase a redundant convention?

Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) is an effective treatment for Parkinson disease. Initiating therapy involves an initial naso-jejunal (NJ) titration phase. The NJ phase is prolonged with significant morbidity. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of proceeding without the NJ phase on resource utilisation and the outcomes of patients. Twenty-five patients were started on LCIG using the patients existing levodopa equivalent dose (LED). We recorded change in LED, length of hospital stay, readmission rates and use of outpatient services and clinical outcomes within 6 months. The median length of stay was 4.5 days. Patients had four outpatient clinic reviews and 2.5 community nurse contacts within 6 months. There was no significant change in daily LED on discharge (P = 0.56). There were significant improvements in all Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale subscores (P < 0.05), the Freezing of Gait scale (P < 0.01) and Parkinson Disease Quality Of Life 39 score (P < 0.01). Initiating LCIG without the NJ phase resulted in short admissions, a minimal outpatient burden and no significant requirement for dose titration while producing good clinical outcomes.

Minimal clinically important worsening on the progressive supranuclear Palsy Rating Scale.

BACKGROUND: Despite the widespread use of the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Rating Scale (PSPRS), it is not known what change in this scale is meaningful for patients. METHODS: We analyzed data from a large clinical trial in PSP-Richardson's syndrome (AL-108-231) to calculate minimal clinically important worsening. This was defined as the difference in mean change of PSPRS in subjects rated "a little worse" and those rated "unchanged" on the Clinicians' Global Impression of Change Scale. A multivariate analysis using logistic regression assessed the relationship between clinical worsening, PSPRS, depression, and activities of daily living. RESULTS: The minimal clinically important worsening on the PSPRS was 5.7 points, corresponding to the mean decline over 6 months in the trial. Changes in activities of daily living and PSPRS were significantly associated with clinical worsening. CONCLUSIONS: Clinically meaningful change is measurable on the PSPRS over 6 months. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Vitamin D and multiple sclerosis.

The role of vitamin D supplementation in preventing multiple sclerosis (MS) and/or treating MS progression is an area of significant research interest. We detail the current status of the ongoing research in this field, and note the lack of class 1 evidence from well-conducted, large, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of vitamin D supplementation in the prevention and/or treatment of MS. We have been able to provide some guidelines for practitioners based on the substantial burden of supportive evidence for the use of vitamin D in MS as summarised here. These guidelines may provide some support to those clinicians who treat people with MS and their families.