Participating Faculty

Implications of Early Treatment for Parkinson's Disease

This supplement to The American Journal of Managed Care reviews the primary rationales for early diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease as well as the importance of treating Parkinson's disease-related comorbidities to improve quality of life and delay functional impairment.

The contents of this supplement may include information regarding the use of products that may be inconsistent with or outside the approved labeling for these products in the United States. Physicians and pharmacists should note that the use of these products outside current approved labeling is considered experimental and are advised to consult prescribing information for these products.

Faculty

Jack J. Chen, PharmD

Associate Professor of Neurology

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, California

Robert A. Hauser, MD, MBA

Professor of Neurology, Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology

Director, Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center

University of South Florida

Tampa, Florida

Kelly E. Lyons, PhD

Research Associate Professor of Neurology

University of Kansas

Medical Center

Director of Research and Education

Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Center

Kansas City, Kansas

Rajesh Pahwa, MD

Laverne and Joyce Rider

Professor of Neurology

Director, Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Center

University of Kansas Medical Center

Kansas City, Kansas

Faculty Disclosures

These faculty have disclosed the following relevant commercial financial relationsips or affiliations in the past 12 months.

Jack J. Chen, PharmD

Honoraria/lecturer:

Teva

Robert A. Hauser, MD, MBA

Honoraria/lecturer:

Allergan Neuroscience, Biogen Idec, Boehringer Ingelheim, Embryon, GE Healthcare, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, Impax, Ipsen Pharmaceuticals, Kyowa Pharmaceutical, Merck Serono International, Novartis, Quintiles, Santhera, Schering Plough, Solvay, Synosia Therapeutics, Teva Neuroscience, UCB, Xenoport

Kelly E. Lyons, PhD

Consultant/advisory board/honoraria:

Teva

Rajesh Pahwa, MD

Consultant/advisory board/honoraria:

Teva

The planning staff from the University of Cincinnati, The American Journal of Managed Care, and the Pharmacy Times Office of Continuing Professional Education have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Implications of Early Treatment for Parkinson's Disease

Release date: March 15, 2010

Expiration date: March 31, 2011

Estimated time to complete activity: 2.5 hours

This activity is supported by an educational grant from Teva Neurosciences, Inc.

Intended Audience

The audience for this supplement consists of medical directors, pharmacy directors, pharmacy and therapeutic committee members, and healthcare providers who oversee the care of patients with Parkinson's disease.

Statement of Educational Need/Program Overview

This educational activity will address knowledge and practice gaps that may prevent clinicians from achieving the best possible outcomes in the care of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

PD is a chronic neurodegenerative disease for which current standard treatment is generally limited to symptomatic therapies. Unfortunately, the most common symptomatic therapy, levodopa, is associated with significant side effects; therefore, its use is typically delayed until functional impairment emerges in the PD patient. Because of this delay, there are additional burdens set upon both the patient and the healthcare system.

There are existing and emerging treatments and strategies that have the potential to improve outcomes and delay disease progression. It is the goal of this program to provide practitioners with knowledge of the overall impact of PD and early treatment, methods for identification and diagnosis of patients with PD, and evidence-based strategies for early treatment of PD.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

After completing this activity, the participant should be able to:

• Describe the primary rationales for early diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD).
• Discuss the appropriate role of levodopa, dopamine agonists, and monoamine oxidase type B inhibitors in the early treatment of PD.
• Explain the importance of treating PD-related comorbidities to improve quality of life and delay functional impairment.
• Describe how appropriate early treatment can delay symptoms and thereby lower long term costs of treatment.
• Discuss PD risk factors and techniques for differential diagnosis.

According to the disclosure policies of the University of Cincinnati and Pharmacy Times Office of Continuing Professional Education, faculty, editors, managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control content are required to disclose any relevant financial relationships with relevant commercial companies related to this activity. All relevant conflicts of interest that are identified are reviewed for potential conflicts of interest. If a conflict is identified, it is the responsibility of the University of Cincinnati and Pharmacy Times Office of Continuing Professional Education to initiate a mechanism to resolve the conflict(s). The existence of these interests or relationships is not viewed as implying bias or decreasing the value of the presentation.

All educational materials are reviewed for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies reported, and levels of evidence.

Physician Continuing Medical Education

Accreditation Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the University of Cincinnati. The University of Cincinnati is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation

The University of Cincinnati designates this educational activity for a maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Pharmacist Continuing Education

Accreditation Statement

Pharmacy Times Office of Continuing Professional Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. This program is approved for 2.5 contact hours (0.25 CEUs) under the ACPE universal program number of 0290-9999-10-009-H01-P. This program is available for CE credit through March 31, 2011.

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