Cough is a particular concern for inhaled drugs, but all reported instances of cough were mild, and none led to dose reduction or discontinuation. No patient reported dyspnea, wheezing, or bronchospasm.
A potential limitation of the study is that patients were not allowed to take the study drug more than three times daily, even though they had an average reported baseline frequency of 3.6 off episodes per day. In addition, the study assessed 35- and 50-mg doses of CVT-301 as sequential treatments. Overall differences between the doses thus might reflect treatment duration rather than dose strength. Nevertheless, “the study’s findings support continued investigation of CVT-301 for rapid treatment of off episodes,” Dr. LeWitt concluded.
—Erik Greb
Suggested Reading
LeWitt PA, Hauser RA, Grosset DG, et al. A randomized trial of inhaled levodopa (CVT-301) for motor fluctuations in Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord. 2016;31(9):1356-1365.