Treating Parkinson's disease is tough. Symptoms get more severe over time and patients tend to build up a tolerance to their medications, which means drugs that used to work for hours only last a short time.
Duke neurologist Dr. Burton Scott said he believes treatments like the Rotigotine patch could help solve the problems. The new delivery system delivers a continous flow of medication 24 hours a day.
"One only has to apply it once a day rather than having to take several medications several times a day," he said.
The medication in the patch may also be more effective than other drugs. Scott does not believe the patch will be a permanent fix.
"Most likely as the disease progresses, individuals will still need to take some oral medications in addition to, say, a patch, but not as much of an oral medication, maybe not as often," Scott said.
To be eligible for the research at Duke, patients have to have been diagnosed in the past five years. For more information, you can call
(919) 668-2841
.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
