Numerous clinical trials have been conducted with transdermal rotigotine since 2001 and have involved more than 2000 patients. Earlier trials showed that significant reductions in levodopa dose were achieved with rotigotine as compared to placebo in patients with Parkinson disease. Similar results were seen in the later PREFER study (26). Two controlled trials of rotigotine in early Parkinson disease showed promise in treating motor dysfunction in early Parkinson disease (32; 40). The safety and effectiveness of rotigotine CDS, as compared to a placebo, was tested in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial over a period of 3 months. A significant and dose-related improvement of motor symptoms and activities of daily life was demonstrated. These endpoints were measured using 2 subscales of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Rotigotine CDS was generally well tolerated. In a phase 3, 24-week clinical trial, patients on rotigotine showed significant improvement on a scale that measures mental abilities and the ability to perform basic motor skills and daily living activities. Clinical trials demonstrate the efficacy of rotigotine in early and advanced Parkinson disease, with important implications for treatment of nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson disease (30). A randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled study showed that rotigotine transdermal system consistently demonstrated statistically significant and clinically relevant efficacy over placebo in patients with early Parkinson disease and was well tolerated (23). Another randomized, double-blind, controlled study of rotigotine versus placebo and ropinirole showed that rotigotine had a similar efficacy to ropinirole (19). A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on patients with early-stage Parkinson disease in Japan has shown that rotigotine, at doses up to 16 mg/24 hours, is well tolerated and improves function (29).
Analysis of the results of RECOVER, a prospective randomized controlled trial of rotigotine transdermal system showed improvement of nonmotor symptoms in patients with Parkinson disease such as fatigue, depression, anhedonia, and apathy (35).
A meta-analysis of 6 randomized controlled trials has shown that rotigotine improves the symptoms of Parkinson disease, but it is also associated with a higher incidence of application site reactions as compared with placebo (43).
Use of rotigotine for restless legs syndrome has been supported by a controlled clinical trial (31). Following 6 weeks' double-blind treatment, patients suffering from moderate to severe restless legs syndrome received open-label rotigotine at dosages of 1 to 3 mg/24 hours, which was well tolerated with sustained efficacy for 5 years (15). A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials suggests that rotigotine is significantly more effective than placebo for the treatment of restless legs syndrome (14).
In a randomized, double-blind trial of patients with Parkinson disease, improvement produced by rotigotine in the total score of multidomain nonmotor symptoms was not superior to placebo (02). Adverse events more frequently reported with rotigotine were nausea, application site reactions, somnolence, and headache.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study has demonstrated that rotigotine improves sleep quality and stability in Parkinson disease by increasing REM, which may be due to its direct effect on both D1 and D2 receptors (33). A meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials showed that rotigotine transdermal patch effectively improved neuropsychiatric symptoms and quality of life in patients with Parkinson disease (39). In a randomized clinical trial rotigotine treatment did not significantly affect global cognition in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease but improvement was observed in cognitive functions highly associated with the frontal lobe and in activities of daily living (25).
A multicenter, randomized, double-blind study of the effect of rotigotine versus placebo showed no significant difference in change of depression at 6 months between rotigotine and placebo, but trait anxiety was significantly improved (06).