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Introduction: The OPTIPARK study confirmed the effectiveness and safety of opicapone as adjunct therapy to levodopa in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and motor fluctuations under real-world conditions. The aim of this sub-analysis was to evaluate opicapone in the German patient cohort of OPTIPARK in order to provide country-specific data. Methods: OPTIPARK was an open-label, single-arm study conducted in routine clinical practice across Germany and the UK. Patients with PD and motor fluctuations received once-daily opicapone 50 mg for 3 months in addition to levodopa. The primary endpoint was Clinicians’ Global Impression of Change (CGI-C). Secondary assessments included Patients’ Global Impressions of Change (PGI-C), Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) I–IV, Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-8), and Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS). This sub-analysis reports outcomes from the German patients only. Results: Overall, 363 (97.6%) of the 372 patients included in the German cohort received ≥1 dose of opicapone and 291 (80.2%) completed the study. Improvements on CGI-C and PGI-C were reported by 70.8% and 76.3% of patients, respectively. UPDRS scores improved for activities of daily living during OFF time by −3.3 ± 4.5 points and motor scores during ON time by −5.3 ± 7.9 points. PDQ-8 and NMSS scores also demonstrated improvements. Treatment emergent adverse events considered at least possibly related to opicapone occurred in 37.7% of patients, with most being of mild or moderate intensity. Conclusion: Opicapone added to levodopa in patients with PD and motor fluctuations was effective and generally well tolerated in routine clinical practice across Germany.

The paper deals with the question of how to restore lost confidence in the results of internal models (especially market risk models). This is an important prerequisite for continuing to use these models as a basis for calculating risk-sensitive prudential capital requirements. The authors argue that restoring confidence is feasible. Contributions to this end will be made both by the reform of regulatory requirements under Basel 2.5 and the Trading Book Review and by refinements of these models by the banks themselves. By contrast, capital requirements calculated on the basis of a leverage ratio and prudential standardised approaches will not be sufficient, even from a regulatory perspective, owing to their substantial weaknesses. Specific proposals include standardising models with a view to reducing complexity and enhancing comparability, significantly improving model validation and increasing transparency as to how model results are determined, also over time. The article reflects the personal views of the authors.

In der Debatte über die Zukunft der Eurozone wird auch das Konzept der Bankenunion diskutiert. Hans-Peter Burghof, Universität Hohenheim, sieht unter den gegenwärtigen Bedingungen die Gefahr einer europäischen Bankenunion, in der das Vermögen einiger Länder des Währungsraumes ohne wirksame Kontrolle in den Herrschaftsbereich einiger anderer Länder in Europa verschoben wird. Nach Ansicht von Bernhard Speyer, Deutsche Bank Research, wird ohne die Verwirklichung der Bankenunion weder der Finanzbinnenmarkt noch die Stabilität der Währungsunion zu retten sein. Allerdings sind hierfür grundlegende Vorarbeiten und eine Änderung des Vertrags notwendig. Eine Bankenunion sei weder Ersatz für Integrationsschritte an anderer Stelle noch sei sie geeignet als rasche Lösung für akute Probleme in den Bankensystemen einzelner Staaten. Für Michael Kemmer, Bundesverband deutscher Banken, kommt es wesentlich auf die richtige Schrittfolge auf dem Weg zu einer Bankenunion an. Wer als ersten Schritt eine europäische Einlagensicherung und einen europäischen Abwicklungs- bzw. Restrukturierungsfonds fordere, faktisch eine Vergemeinschaftung von Risiken, werde eher über kurz als über lang ins Straucheln geraten. Jörg Rocholl, European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, sieht derzeit die Voraussetzungen für eine Bankenunion nur sehr eingeschränkt gegeben. Deutschland solle daher eine übereilte Einführung einer Bankenunion ablehnen. Es ließe sich weder wirtschaftlich noch politisch vermitteln, dass die in bestimmten Ländern entstandenen Risiken, ohne die Möglichkeiten entsprechender Kontrollvorrichtungen, zulasten aller vergemeinschaftet werden. Für Georg Fahrenschon, Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, ist eine einheitliche europäische Einlagensicherung, die nichts weiter ist, als eine gigantische Umverteilung zu Lasten der deutschen Sparer, keine Antwort auf Krisen in anderen Teilen Europas. Nach Meinung von Jörg Asmussen, Europäische Zentralbank, hat die Krise verdeutlicht, wie

A zero-order reaction converts cis-dilithiostilbene (1), formed upon reduction of diphenylacetylene by lithium, into the trans isomer 2. The cis-monolithiated adduct acts as a catalyst.

In einer Reaktion nullter Ordnung wird cis-Dilithiostilben 1, das aus Diphenylacetylen und Lithiummetall in Diethylether zuganglich ist, in das trans-Isomer 2 umgelagert. Monolithiiertes Stilben fungiert dabei als Katalysator.

1 The effects of cholinergic and purinergic stimulation on action potential, force of contraction and 86Rb efflux were investigated in cat atrial and/or ventricular heart muscle. 2 Acetylcholine and carbachol exerted a concentration-dependent negative inotropic effect in cat atrial heart muscle. Carbachol 10 μmol l−1 completely abolished the force of contraction and increased the rate constant of 86Rb efflux 2–3 fold, whereas the action potential duration was shortened to about 1/10 of its length under control conditions. 3 The effects of acetylcholine and carbachol in cat atrial heart muscle were mimicked, qualitatively, by adenosine and its analogues 5′-(N-ethyl)-carboxamido-adenosine (NECA) and (−)-N6-(R-phenyl-isopropyl)-adenosine (R-PIA). Maximal purinergic effects, however, amounted to about 15–50% in comparison to those of cholinergic stimulation. 4 In cat ventricular heart muscle, cholinergic or purinergic stimulation had no significant effects on the force of contraction in the absence of a cyclic AMP-dependent positive inotropic effect. Carbachol antagonized the positive inotropic effect elicited by either 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, isoprenaline or cyclic 8-(4-chlorphenylthio)adenosine-3′:5′-monophosphate; NECA and R-PIA were less effective. The inhibition by carbachol of the effects of isoprenaline was not related to a change in the rate constant of 86Rb efflux. 5 It is concluded that the effects of cholinoceptor and purinoceptor agonists in the cat heart involve a change in the potassium conductance in the atrium, whereas the effects in the ventricle may be related to changes of intracellular cyclic AMP levels. It seems reasonable to assume that, in comparison to cholinergic stimulation, a low density of purinoceptors in the cat heart is responsible for the relatively weak effects of adenosine agonists in this species.