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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
23:53
Ole Isacson: Development of New Therapies for Parkinson's Disease
Published on: April 29, 2007
Should treatment for Parkinson's disease start immediately on diagnosis or delayed until functional disability
Carl E Clarke1, Smitaa Patel, Natalie Ives
1Department of Neurology, City Hospital, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, Dudley Road, Birmingham, United Kingdom. c.e.clarke@bham.ac.uk
Summary
Starting Parkinson's disease treatment immediately upon diagnosis shows minimal benefits and is not yet clinically warranted. Further research is required to confirm efficacy and cost-effectiveness of early intervention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Clinical Pharmacology
Background:
- Clinical trials suggest potential benefits of early Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment.
- Traditional practice delays treatment until functional disability occurs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and meta-analyze delayed-start design trials in Parkinson's disease.
- To evaluate the evidence for immediate versus delayed treatment initiation.
Main Methods:
- Narrative literature review.
- Meta-analysis of delayed-start design trials.
Main Results:
- Inconsistent results from rasagiline trials complicate interpretation.
- Immediate treatment showed small, potentially clinically irrelevant, benefits on Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale scores.
- Limited data exists on quality of life, adverse events, and cost-effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- Current evidence does not support changing clinical practice to immediate PD therapy.
- Further clinical trials are necessary to establish the benefits of early intervention.
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