Opicapone Brand Name– ONGENTYS
What is Opicapone
Opicapone is an oral catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor used once-daily as adjunctive treatment to levodopa-carbidopa in adults with Parkinson’s disease experiencing ‘off’ episodes.
Clinically, COMT inhibitors improve levodopa availability in the CNS, thereby prolonging the motor response to levodopa treatment.
The adjunct use of opicapone allows the patient’s dosage of levodopa to be lowered, which results in a decrease in the incidence or severity of levodopa dose-related side effects (e.g., dyskinesia, nausea, etc.).
Similar to other dopaminergic agents, there is the potential for impulse control symptoms, including intense and uncontrollable urges to gamble, increased sexual urges, intense urges to spend money uncontrollably, or other intense urges while taking opicapone.
Because patients may not recognize these behaviors as abnormal it is important for practitioners to inquire periodically about new or worsening impulse control symptoms.
In addition, there have been reports of sudden episodes of falling asleep without prior warning of sleepiness while engaged in activities of daily living in patients taking dopaminergic agents.
Patients should be advised of this effect and be instructed to use extreme caution when driving or operating machinery or performing other tasks that require alertness while receiving opicapone.
Opicapone was FDA approved in April 2020
Indications
- Parkinson’s disease
For the treatment of “off” episodes in Parkinson’s disease as an adjunct to carbidopa/levodopa
Side Effects
- agitation
- constipation
- dizziness
- drowsiness
- dyskinesia
- hallucinations
- hypertension
- hypotension
- impulse control symptoms
- insomnia
- neuroleptic malignant syndrome-like symptoms
- orthostatic hypotension
- psychosis
- sudden sleep onset
- syncope
- weight loss
- withdrawal
- xerostomia
Monitoring Parameters
- neurologic function
Contraindications
- abrupt discontinuation
- behavioral changes
- breast-feeding
- children
- coadministration with other CNS depressants
- driving or operating machinery
- dyskinesia
- ethanol ingestion
- geriatric
- hepatic disease
- hypotension
- impulse control symptoms
- infants
- MAOI therapy
- narcolepsy
- orthostatic hypotension
- pheochromocytoma
- pregnancy
- psychosis
- renal failure
- renal impairment
- schizophrenia
- sleep apnea
- syncope
Interactions
No information is available regarding drug interactions associated with Opicapone