Olfaction in Patients With Parkinson's Disease Following Treatment With Rasagiline
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2012-02-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
There is convincing evidence from numerous studies using both psychophysical and
electrophysiological approaches that olfaction is markedly reduced in Parkinson´s disease
(PD). Data on the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in PD however, range from 45% and 49%
in the pioneering studies of Ansari & Johnson, and Ward, respectively, up to 74% in the work
of Hawkes et al., or as high as 90% in a study published by Doty et al. Quality of life,
safety, and interpersonal relations, as well as food behavior/nutritional intake are severely
altered in a large proportion of patients with olfactory loss. Thus, the same can be assumed
in patients with Parkinson's disease. If it was possible to improve olfactory function this
would appear as a significant effect in patients with Parkinson's disease. Provided the study
would reveal an improvement of olfactory function following therapy with rasagiline, this
would have tremendous worldwide impact on the use of this drug. Considering the frequency of
PD a very large number of patients would benefit from these findings, especially in terms of
quality of life.