Drug Safinamide
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Drug Safinamide
Abstract
The safinamide drug is a drug used by clinicians which functions by accepting dopamine chemical, which is found in the brain to work extensively. It is as a result of a lack of dopamine in the brain that makes one suffer from Parkinson’s disease. This study aims at looking into clinical uses, mechanisms of actions, efficacy and side effects of drug safinamide and also taking into account data concerning efficacy and safety of the drug (Bette, et, al., 2018).
Introduction
There has been a drastic pathological change in Parkinson’s disease, which has been caused by the continuous loss of dopamine (Blair, & Dhillon, 2017). The loss is referred to as neurons. A better way to improve the life has to be used by doctors. The alternative approach that has the capability of reversing the situation is known as dopaminergic drugs therapy. It has been found that the drug is one of the best standards in the treatment of motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (Xu et al. 2020). When a high dose of the motor is used for the long term, dopaminergic approach treatment will increase motor complication appearance in the patient, which is dangerous to a patient. This drug is made from sodium with selective and reversible inhibitory effects. The main objective of this study is to examine how safe the drug is to human health, especially in Europe and America (Blair, & Dhillon, 2017).
Mechanism of action
The mechanism of action of the safinamide drug is through reversible inhibition of MAO-B (Blair, & Dhillon, 2017). The action is said to change the status of health in a patient by reducing the content of dopamine. The drug, once in the body, is absorbed quickly into the blood with a higher percentage of absorption rates. Its distribution rate is high in the bloodstream that makes it stand a chance of healing a patient at a shorter duration (DeSouza, & Schapira, 2017).
Safety of the drug
The study examined the side effects of the drug and its reaction to human health when taken for treatment (Xu et al. 2020). The results were then given for statistical analysis. Some of the safety measures to be taken on the drug include:
The patient needs to follow keenly the instructions given by the physicians on the usage of the drug (Blair, & Dhillon, 2017). Blair, & Dhillon, (2017) advises the patients to only use the recommended dose at a duration not less than nor exceeding the prescribed.
The drug has to be prescribed together with levodopa and carbidopa. Taking the drug alone is dangerous to the patient, and it is not recommended (Blair & Dhillon, 2017).
The drug is usually prescribed to be taken only once in a day, and the time for taking the drug should be constant (Blair, & Dhillon, 2017).
For safety purposes, Xu et al. (2020) advise that the patient’s blood pressure needs to be always checked to ensure that the patient maintains only the normal temperature show no variation on what to be treated.
The drug should be stored at a room temperature where there is neither heat nor moisture.
Statistical methods
Uniform random numbers were used to take the statistics of data which were later presented in the form of a table. The analysis used here was primary analysis where a set of the population was grouped, and a mixed model worked for the measures that were recorded to be repeating. These data were categorized into various groups depending on the type of patient who was under the interview. The data collected had to give information such as a group of the patient receiving the medication, time of evaluation, point of evaluation as well as the duration of interaction point (Cattaneo et al., 2017).
The duration of treatment time, mainly considered in this study was twenty weeks. A sequence of comparison approach was used in this study to deal with issues of treatment of a large group. A portion of safinamide was used in the same ratio per day of a group of patients which was compared to the placebo group. The result gave out a significant level which was two-sided. The study gave each level of result a known name that could be used to predict the result that can be used to give relatively correct feedback. The study divided the test into two areas where some patients were withdrawn from the drugs before completion of antiparkinsonian dose while others were left to complete the dose (Blair, & Dhillon, 2017).
Results
The study noted no differences in most of the cases under examination, recording a well-balanced result; however, there was a small variation in mean daily time for attending the hospital services. When it comes to antiparkinsonian drug, there was no variation among the groups which received treatment. The result for those who received full treatment and those who were withdrawn before completing the treatment was the same (Xu, et al. 2020).
Efficacy results
The data collected during the research were critically analyzed, and the results were summarized for interpretations. From the study, it was indicated there were differences in daily time increase week twenty when that data was compared to that of the placebo group (Xu, et al. 2020).
Discussion of the result
From the data collected and the analysis of the result, the comparison of the present study and the study before shows that previously age line was lower on the patients receiving the treatment using dopaminergic approach; baseline remained higher for the present. As these variations were observed, another notable observation was that the duration of the disease at a modified age was similar as well as other observable characteristics. Present studies also show that safinamide makes patients improve, especially in wearing off and motor symptoms unlike the rate at which placedo does; showing safinamide is better compared to safinamide (Müller, 2017).
Side effects of the safinamide drug
Before taking any drug Xu, et al. (2020) states that it is important to understand some of the other ways the drug can affect you since the attack from side effects can even be dangerous than the disease you intend to cure by using the drug. The following are some of the side effects of the safinamide drug.
Some medicines, when taken within the first two weeks of taking the safinamide drug, may have drastic effects where some may even cause loss of life. This, therefore, means a lot of care has to be taken by the doctors to ensure accuracy when dealing with this drug. The following are some of the medicine a patient is recommended not to take within the first two weeks of using the safinamide drug: amphetamines, medicines that have dextromethorphan in its content, cyclobenzaprine, methylphenidate MAO inhibitor, antidepressants, narcotics and other medicine that has the above contents.
A patient should ensure not to possess any allergy that deals with safinamide and is also advised not to use the drug in case they have severe liver disease (Blair, & Dhillon, 2017).
The following may happen when one uses the drug, and the patient needs to seek medical tension at once since they may come as a result of one’s body, reacting to the safinamide drug.
When one’s vision begins to change
When one experience twitching or uncontrolled muscle movements
In case one feels confused, agitated or unusual thoughts and behaviour.
When one is hallucinating
When one feels such symptoms as sweating, fever and increase in a heartbeat
Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea and increased in one’s blood pressure (Mancini, et, al., 2018).
Uses
Safinamide is taken together with levodopa and carbidopa for treatment of episodes which includes problems with muscles to assist in areas such as muscle stiffness and muscle control (Xu, et al. 2020). The following are some of the areas where the safinamide drug is used
Pediatric use
In pediatric populations, clinicians are yet to establish the safety and efficacy of this drug, making it not easy to be used in such population category (Ledesma, Catalán, & Brandán, 2020).
Pregnancy and lactation
In this category, patients suffering must undergo scanning to check the safety and benefits that can come before recommending medication of the drug. The reason behind these is the lack of enough data in evaluating the fatal risks that are associated with the usage of the safinamide drug on pregnant women and women within the age of bearing children. There is also the problem of the unknown effect on the drug on the milk when a baby breastfeed on the mother after using the drug (Müller, 2018).
Geriatric use
Studies show that the variation in age does not affect the pharmacokinetics of the safinamide drug.
Renal and Hepatic impairment
The study compared patients with different renal functions and the result showed that after examining all the categories of groups from different levels of renal functions, no effect could be identified, indicating that safinamide is not affected by impaired renal function (Teixeira, et al., 2018).
Conclusion
Many patients have made good press as a result of using the safinamide drug. The correct usage and properly follow up of the prescription from the doctor makes the drug to be one of the best drugs used in curing diseases such as Parkinson disease. Its usage can improve motor function in the patients. However, the patient must be aware of the side effects of the drug as some side effects are worse as death. Safety precautions are very important to look for whenever you make a choice to use the drug and when the patients begin to experience some changes, it is advisable that that patient to visit the doctor as soon as possible to avoid further complications (Müller, & Foley, 2017).
References
Bette, S., Shpiner, D. S., Singer, C., & Moore, H. (2018). Safinamide in the management of patients with Parkinson’s disease not stabilized on levodopa: a review of the current clinical evidence. Therapeutics and clinical risk management, 14, 1737.
Blair, H. A., & Dhillon, S. (2017). Safinamide: a review in Parkinson’s disease. CNS drugs, 31(2), 169-176.
Cattaneo, C., Barone, P., Bonizzoni, E., & Sardina, M. (2017). Effects of safinamide on pain in fluctuating Parkinson’s disease patients: a post-hoc analysis. Journal of Parkinson’s disease, 7(1), 95-101.
DeSouza, R. M., & Schapira, A. (2017). Safinamide for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 18(9), 937-943.
Ledesma, A. E., Catalán, C. A. N., & Brandán, S. A. (2020). A combined theoretical and experimental study on the structure, vibrational, and electronic properties of antiparkinsonian drug safinamide. SN Applied Sciences, 2(11), 1-16.
Mancini, F., Di Fonzo, A., Lazzeri, G., Borellini, L., Silani, V., Lacerenza, M., & Comi, C. (2018). Real-life evaluation of safinamide effectiveness in Parkinson’s disease. Neurological Sciences, 39(4), 733-739.
Müller, T. (2017). Pharmacokinetic drug evaluation of safinamide mesylate for the treatment of mid-to-late stage Parkinson’s disease. Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology, 13(6), 693-699.
Müller, T. (2018). Safinamide: an add-on treatment for managing Parkinson’s disease. Clinical Pharmacology: Advances and Applications, 10, 31.
Müller, T., & Foley, P. (2017). Clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of safinamide. Clinical pharmacokinetics, 56(3), 251-261.
Teixeira, F. G., Gago, M. F., Marques, P., Moreira, P. S., Magalhães, R., Sousa, N., & Salgado, A. J. (2018). Safinamide: a new hope for Parkinson’s disease?. Drug discovery today, 23(3), 736-744.
Xu, T., Sun, R., Wei, G., & Kong, S. (2020). The protective effect of safinamide in ischemic stroke mice and a brain endothelial cell line. Neurotoxicity Research, 38(3), 733-740.