Objective: To investigate patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who received zonisamide and istradefylline at the same period.

Background: Zonisamide and istradefylline are anti-PD drugs with different mechanisms of action. Both drugs are approved for use in patients with PD and can be used at the same periods in Japan.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated all clinical records of PD patients who were treated with zonisamide and istradefylline in our hospital from April to June 2016.

Results: A total of 17 patients (male 7/female 10; mean age at initiation of zonisamide, 63.7±6.9 years: mean age at initiation of istradefylline, 67.1±6.5 years) were included in this study. Disease duration at zonisamide initiation was 8.8±6.1 years, and disease duration at istradefylline initiation was 12.1±7.2 years. Twenty-nine % of patients reported improvement with both drugs. Twelve % reported improvement with zonisamide only and 35 reported improvement with istradefylline only. Both drugs were not effective in only one patient (5.9%).

Conclusions: Even when zonisamide and isradifylline are not effective in the initial dose as a single agent, they can complement the effect by combining their different effects.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-complementary-relationship-between-zonisamide-and-istradefylline-in-treating-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/