Press Release

For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Preston
(973) 972-7265

At UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Researchers Report New Drug Helps Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

The study, conducted at 32 sites nationwide and in Canada, showed that patients who received rasagiline showed improved motor and cognitive skills and were less impaired in their ability to perform daily living tasks. The research is published in the December issue of the Archives of Neurology.

Dr. Lawrence I. Golbe, professor and acting chairman of the Department of Neurology at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said the results of the Parkinson's Study Group (PSG) study were important, "because they indicate rasagiline is safe and well tolerated. This now gives us a useful new treatment option for patients in the early stages of the disease." Dr. Golbe led the study at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

The drug, a selective irreversible second-generation inhibitor of the enzyme monoamine oxidase type B, was tested as a single treatment for patients with mild Parkinson's disease and who required no other medication.

Four hundred and four patients participated in the multi-site study. Prior to its start, each patient was required to fill out a questionnaire assessing symptoms and quality of life and also to undergo a neurological examination. Each patient was given either one or two milligrams a day of rasagiline or a placebo for six months.

The principal measure used in the study to assess motor and cognitive skills was the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Each treatment group started the trial with an average UPDRS score of 25 points. Over the first month of the study, patients on one milligram of rasagiline improved by an average of one point and by the end of the study had worsened by one-tenth of a point. Patients on the placebo showed no measurable change by the end of the first month and by six months had worsened by 3.9 points.

Dr. Golbe and his team are now part of a second project project evaluating the effects of rasagiline on patients with more advanced Parkinson's disease. The study is sponsored by Teva Neuroscience, a pharmaceutical company based in Israel.

The Department of Neurology at UMDNJ-RWJMS is nationally known for its research programs investigating the cause and treatment of Parkinson's disease. It led the effort that resulted in the identification in 1997 of the first genetic abnormality known to cause PD. Scientists there also performed pioneering work on the mode of action of drugs of the class to which rasagiline belongs.

As one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery and the promotion of community health for the residents of New Jersey. The school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels, as well as continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education

programs. The medical school encompasses 21 basic science and clinical departments and also integrates diverse clinical programs conducted at its 37 hospital affiliates and numerous ambulatory care sites in the region. The major institutes affiliated with UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Cardiovascular Institute, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, and the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute.

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey comprises the state's only three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, school of health related professions, school of nursing and a school of public health on campuses in Newark, Piscataway/New Brunswick, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ also operates UMDNJ-University Hospital in Newark and University Behavioral HealthCare. It is affiliated with more than 200 health care and educational institutions throughout the state.

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