Emerging role of safinamide in Parkinson’s disease therapy

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease is associated with motor complications, especially dyskinesias, which limit dopaminergic replacement therapy. Safinamide is a water-soluble, orally active a-aminoamide derivative that modulates dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission with a unique dual mechanism of action. It improves motor symptoms, motor complications, quality of life and ‘on’ and ‘off’ time even in combination with other Parkinson’s disease (PD) medications, such as dopamine agonists and levodopa (LD). Safinamide reduces ‘off’ time and extends ‘on’ time without troublesome dyskinesia. Furthermore, safinamide maintains its effects after long-term treatment and has a favourable pharmacokinetic and side-effect profile. It therefore has the potential to become an important drug in PD management. This review will summarise data from animals, healthy human subjects and patients with PD on the long-term efficacy and safety of safinamide.