Abbott: LCIG may improve Parkinson's disease symptoms among patients

ABBOTT PARK, Ill. — Patients with Parkinson’s disease treated with an investigational drug made by Abbott saw a decrease in the amount of time their symptoms resurfaced, while the time in which their symptoms stayed under control increased, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial that Abbott announced Thursday.

The 192-patient trial was a 54-week, phase-3 study of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel, or LCIG. As Parkinson’s patients’ disease progresses during treatment with oral medications, they usually will experience “off” time, when some of their symptoms re-emerge. This contrasts with “on” time, when their symptoms are well-managed. They also may experience involuntary movements associated with most treatments used to manage the disease, known as dyskinesias, which can result from spikes in drug levels in the blood caused by inconsistent absorption of oral medications.

After 12 weeks of therapy, patients reported an average of 3.9 fewer hours of “off” time and 4.6 more hours of “on” time without troublesome dyskinesias.

LCIG is infused with a portable pump directly into the small intestine via a small tube during daytime hours, and continuous delivery may help reduce drug-level spikes, thus reducing dyskinesias.