Research Article

Levodopa Prescription Patterns in Patients with Advanced Parkinson’s Disease: A Japanese Database Analysis

Table 3

Parkinson’s disease drugs taken by patients and the median dose at the index date.

TreatmentPatients, n (%)Median (Q1, Q3) daily dose
Unadjusted (mg LED/day)Adjusted by body weighta (mg LED/kg/day)

Any PD drug3482 (86.4)634.8 (360.0, 1089.5)13.7 (7.5, 23.7)
Levodopa
 Levodopa ± DCI2982 (74.0)418.2 (219.2, 712.5)9.0 (4.6, 15.7)
 Entacaponeb843 (20.9)680.8 (399.0, 1152.2)14.5 (8.6, 24.2)
Ergot dopamine agonists
 Bromocriptine65 (1.6)65.1 (29.5, 140.1)1.2 (0.7, 2.5)
 Pergolide86 (2.1)60.5 (25.0, 127.2)1.4 (0.7, 2.9)
 Cabergoline93 (2.3)97.0 (42.8, 181.6)2.4 (0.9, 3.7)
Nonergot dopamine agonists
 Talipexole0 (0.0)
 Pramipexole, regular371 (9.2)94.7 (37.5, 204.3)2.1 (0.8, 4.6)
 Pramipexole, slow release270 (6.7)184.4 (66.2, 390.0)3.7 (1.3, 7.4)
 Ropinirole, regular181 (4.5)86.8 (26.9, 162.0)1.7 (0.6, 3.9)
 Ropinirole, slow release304 (7.6)117.9 (35.6, 266.7)2.4 (0.8, 5.6)
 Rotigotine952 (23.6)179.6 (96.4, 327.9)3.9 (2.0, 7.4)
 Apomorphine50 (1.2)38.8 (14.3, 133.3)0.7 (0.3, 2.3)
Monoamine oxidase type B inhibitors
 Rasagiline2 (0.1)152.9 (75.9, 230.0)3.4 (1.6, 5.1)
 Selegiline493 (12.2)41.4 (21.9, 76.1)0.8 (0.4, 1.7)
Anticholinergics
 Trihexyphenidyl6 (0.2)
 Biperiden23 (0.6)
 Promethazine8 (0.2)
 Piroheptine0 (0.0)
 Profenamine1 (0.0)
Other PD drugs
 Amantadine540 (13.4)103.0 (52.1, 180.1)2.3 (1.2, 4.0)
 Zonisamide662 (16.4)
 Droxidopa521 (12.9)
 Istradefylline466 (11.6)

aCalculated in patients who had body weight data available. bEntacapone or the combination drug of entacapone + levodopa/carbidopa. DCI, decarboxylase inhibitor; LED, levodopa equivalent dose; PD, Parkinson’s disease; Q1/Q3, quartile 1/quartile 3.