Long-Acting Versus Standard Non-Ergot Dopamine Agonists in Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Aims To evaluate the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of long-acting versus standard non-ergot dopamine agonists (NEDAs) in Parkinson's disease (PD), we performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Materials and methods The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library databases, and Web of Knowledge were searched up to November 20th 2013. The pooled weighted mean differences (WMDs) and relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results Eight large-scale RCTs, involving 2402 patients, were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with the standard NEDAs, long-acting NEDAs exhibited similar improvements in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale activities of daily living (ADL) score (WMD 0.09, 95% CI -0.33 to 0.50), motor score (WMD -0.35, 95% CI -1.60 to 0.90), and off time (WMD 0.18, 95% CI -0.14 to 0.50). No differences were found in overall withdrawals (RR 1.11, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.32), withdrawals due to adverse events (RR 1.19, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.56), or the ten commonly reported adverse events between the two formulations. Conclusions Our meta-analysis showed long-acting NEDAs were noninferior to standard NEDAs in efficacy, tolerability, and safety in the treatment of PD.