Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

These are routine activities of every day life that people tend do on a daily basis without needing assistance. There are six basic ADLs: eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring (walking) and continence. An individual's ability to perform ADLs is important for determining what type of long-term care (e.g. nursing-home care or home care) and coverage the individual needs (i.e. government-funded healthcare or long-term care insurance).

Adjunctive treatment

A drug added as a supplement to increase the efficacy/decrease side effects/change the pharmacokinetics (PK) of another already prescribed treatment, e.g. (i) improve efficacy of a first-line therapy, e.g. adding a dopamine agonist to patients on levodopa, (ii) improve the tolerability and safety of the first-line therapy, e.g. use of anti-cholinergics to patients on neuroleptics, and (iii)improve the PK/brain availability of the first-line therapy, e.g. COMT-inhibitors administered to patients on levodopa.

Alpha-aminoamide derivative

The chemical class to which belong both safinamide and ralfinamide. More specifically is an amide derivative of an alpha-aminoacid.

Analgesics

An analgesic is any member of the diverse group of drugs acting in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous system to alleviate pain.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The nerves and cells of the brain and spinal cord.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter known to have multiple functions depending on where it acts. Dopamine-containing neurons in a specific area of the basal ganglia are destroyed in Parkinson’s victims.

Double-blinded study

A clinical trial design in which neither the participating individuals (healthy volunteers or patients) nor the study staff know which participants are receiving the experimental drug and which are receiving placebo or another active treatment. Double-blind trials are thought to produce objective results, since the expectations of the doctor and the participant about the experimental drug do not affect the outcome.

Dyskinesias

Abnormal, involuntary body movements that can appear as jerking, fidgeting, twisting, and turning movements.In the context of Parkinson's disease, dyskinesias are often the result of chronic levodopa therapy. These motor fluctuations occur in more than half of PD patients with levodopa therapy. Dyskinesias most commonly occur at the time of peak levodopa plasma concentrations and are thus referred to as peak-dose dyskinesias. As patients advance, they may evidence diphasic dyskinesias, which occur when the drug concentration rises or falls.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological condition that is characterized by recurrent unprovoked epileptic seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain.

Inflammatory pain

Inflammatory pain is triggered by nerve endings that become overexcited when surrounded by inflamed tissue and, in most cases, the degree of pain is proportional to the degree of inflammation.

In vitro

A biological or chemical process occurring outside a living organism, i.e. conducted on cultured cells.

In vivo

A biological or chemical process occuring inside a living organism.

Ion channels

Pore-forming proteins that help to establish and control the voltage gradient that exists across the plasma membrane of all living cells by allowing the flow of ions down their electrochemical gradient. They are present in the membranes that surround all biological cells.

Levodopa

A drug which is used to treat Parkinson’s disease which helps restore levels of dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain responsible for smooth, coordinated movement and other motor and cognitive functions.

Neurons

Cells that constitute nervous tissue, that have the property of transmitting and receiving nervous impulses.

Neuropathic pain

Neuropathic pain is a chronic, frequently progressive condition that seriously impacts the quality of life of patients who suffer from it. The disease is caused by damage to, or dysfunction of, the nervous system and typically results from damage to nerve cells.

Parkinson’s disease (PD)

PD is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by the progressive deterioration of motor functions. It is the most common serious movement disorder and, according to an article by Samii et al. published in The Lancet in May 2004, affects about 1% of the world population over 60 years of age.

Placebo

An inactive substance designed to resemble the drug being tested. It is used as a control to rule out any psychological effects testing may present.

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)

RLS, a common, but often misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed, neurological sleep movement disorder which is characterised by a distressing urge to move the legs and sometimes also other body parts, usually accompanied by a marked sense of discomfort or pain in the leg or other afflicted body parts. RLS is typically triggered by rest or inactivity and its symptoms are temporarily relieved or suppressed by movement.

UPDRS

The Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, is the standard tool for tracking Parkinson's disease progress and response to therapy, is subdivided into three scales including cognitive and mood aspects (Part I), activities of daily living (Part II), and motor aspects symptoms (Part III) and as well as dyskinesia aspects (Part IV). A lower score indicates a better condition than a higher score.

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