In patients with moderate Parkinson disease (PD), exenatide had positive effects on practically defined off-medication motor scores, a recent study found. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included patients (aged 25-75 years) with moderate PD randomly assigned 1:1 to receive subcutaneous injections of exenatide 2 mg or placebo once weekly for 48 weeks in addition to their regular medication, followed by a 12-week washout period, between June 18, 2014, and March 13, 2015. Primary outcome was the adjusted difference in the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) motor subscale (part 3) in the practically defined off-medication state at 60 weeks. Researchers found:

• 62 patients were enrolled; 32 were randomly assigned to exenatide and 30 to placebo.
• At 60 weeks, off-medication scores on part 3 of the MDS-UPDRS improved by 1.0 points in the exenatide group and worsened by 2.1 points in the placebo group (adjusted mean difference, –3.5 points).
• There were 6 serious adverse events in the exenatide group vs 2 in the placebo group.