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Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitors are used to increase the bioavailability of therapeutic L-dopa. We examined the efficacy of entacapone in Parkinson's disease patients who had daily "off" duration of ≤2 hours, and carried different COMT polymorphisms. A total of 168 PD patients were recruited from 19 centers. Subjects were administered with 100-200 mg of entacapone in combination with each dose of L-dopa for 2 months. The clinical efficacy was evaluated based on the activities of daily living (ADL), score on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage, and Clinical Global Impression (CGI). COMT polymorphisms were genotyped. 3-O-methyldopa (3-OMD) levels were measured before and after the administration of entacapone. Entacapone administration produced significant improvements in the total daily "on" duration, ADL, UPDRS score, and H&Y stage. Nineteen patients (11.3%) had the low-activity COMT genotype, 68 patients (40.5%) had the intermediate-activity COMT genotype, and 81patients (48.2%) had the high-activity COMT genotype. The efficacy, and adverse effects of entacapone therapy did not differ between the three groups. There was a significant reduction in 3-OMD, but this did not differ among the three genotypes. Entacapone provided an increased "on" duration and improved motor function in all COMT genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Cognition (SCOPA-Cog) was developed to assess cognition in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the SCOPACog (K-SCOPA-Cog)., Methods: We enrolled 129 PD patients with movement disorders from 31 clinics in South Korea. The original version of the SCOPA-Cog was translated into Korean using the translation-retranslation method. The test-retest method with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used to assess reliability. Spearman's rank correlation analysis with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Korean version (MOCA-K) and the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) were used to assess concurrent validity., Results: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.797, and the ICC was 0.887. Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation with the K-MMSE and MOCA-K scores (r = 0.546 and r = 0.683, respectively)., Conclusion: Our., Results: demonstrate that the K-SCOPA-Cog has good reliability and validity.

Background and Purpose: Oral administration of cholinesterase inhibitors is often associated with adverse gastrointestinal effects, and so developing an alternative administration route, such as transdermal, is urgently needed. The primary objective of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of the IPI-301 donepezil transdermal patch compared with donepezil tablets (control) in mild-to-moderate probable Alzheimer's disease (AD)., Methods: This prospective, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, two-arm parallel, multicenter trial included 399 patients, among whom 303 completed the trial. For randomization, the patients were stratified based on previous treatment and donepezil dose; patients in each stratum were randomized to the test and control groups at a 1:1 ratio., Results: The difference between the control group and the IPI-301 group, quantified as the Hodges-Lehmann estimate of location shift, was 0.00 (95% confidence interval: -1.00 to 1.33), with an upper limit of less than 2.02. The change in Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) score differed significantly between the IPI-301 and control groups ( p =0.02). However, the changes in the full-itemized ADCS-ADL scores at week 24 did not differ significantly between the two groups. There were no differences between the two groups regarding the scores for the Clinician Interview-Based Impression of Change ( p =0.9097), Mini-Mental State Examination ( p =0.7018), Neuropsychiatric Inventory ( p =0.7656), or Clinical Dementia Rating ( p =0.9990). Adverse events, vital signs, and laboratory test results were comparable between the two groups., Conclusions: IPI-301 was safe and efficacious in improving cognitive function in patients with mild-to-moderate AD., Competing Interests: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 Korean Neurological Association.)

Purpose: This paper is derived from a larger study of nurses perceptions of their role as patient educators. The focus is to examine nurses performance in patient education in relation to issues of their perceived responsibility and their ability to prioritize patient education., Method: A multiple-method survey design, using a questionnaire and in-depth interviews, is used to produce a comprehensive picture of the research problem examined., Result: The findings suggest that although nurses consider patient education as an integral part of their care, they fail to deliver as much as they desire in the face of work constraints. Nurses patient education activities are mainly informal and reactional, in which case they can be easily regarded as a low priority when faced with time constraints., Conclusion: The findings suggest that there is a need for systematic approaches that enable the inculcation of patient education into routine daily care.