Robert A Hauser

• MD, MBA
• University of South Florida

Background Tremor is reported by people with Parkinson's disease (PwP) as being one of the most troublesome symptoms. Objective To characterize the PwP experience of tremor. Methods An internet-based survey of PwP living with tremor was conducted in the US, from September 2023 to March 2024. Results Survey responses from 634 respondents (PwP = 5...

Importance Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) paired with appropriate disease-specific machine learning holds promise for the clinical differentiation of Parkinson disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA) parkinsonian variant, and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). A prospective study is needed to test whether the approach meets primary end poi...

The therapeutic efficacy remaining from prior treatments with botulinum toxins (BoNTs) when cervical dystonia (CD) patients prefer to be re-treated has not been well characterized. Here, we assessed the residual therapeutic efficacy of BoNT injections at the time of a patient-desired re-treatment. In pivotal trials for daxibotulinumtoxinA (DAXI) in...

The Neuronal alpha-Synuclein Disease (NSD) biological definition and Integrated Staging System (NSD-ISS) provide a research framework to identify individuals with Lewy body pathology and stage them based on underlying biology and increasing degree of functional impairment. Utilizing data from the PPMI, PASADENA, and SPARK studies, we developed and...

Estimates of the spectrum and frequency of pathogenic variants in Parkinson’s disease (PD) in different populations are currently limited and biased. Furthermore, although therapeutic modification of several genetic targets has reached the clinical trial stage, a major obstacle in conducting these trials is that PD patients are largely unaware of t...

Introduction In the United States (US), prophylactic treatment with the antiemetic trimethobenzamide has been used before initiating apomorphine therapy. However, US trimethobenzamide stores have been depleted, leaving uncertainty regarding whether antiemetic pretreatment is needed. Methods This modified Delphi panel aimed to inform circumstances...

Background Deutetrabenazine is approved for adults with tardive dyskinesia (TD). Data based on underlying psychiatric condition and baseline dopamine receptor antagonist (DRA) use are limited. Methods Patients with TD who completed parent studies ARM-TD or AIM-TD were eligible for the 3-year, open-label extension study (RIM-TD; NCT02198794). In RI...

Introduction: Cervical dystonia (CD) causes involuntary movements and postures of the head, neck, and shoulders, as well as nonmotor symptoms including pain, mood, and sleep dysfunction, and impacts quality of life. The first-line treatment for CD is botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injections. Areas covered: The clinical presentation and diagnosis o...

Deutetrabenazine is a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitor used to treat tardive dyskinesia (TD) and chorea associated with Huntington disease (HD). To enhance detection of safety signals across individual trials, integrated safety analyses of deutetrabenazine in TD and HD chorea were conducted. For TD, safety data were integrated from two 1...

Background As Parkinson's disease (PD) advances, management is challenged by an increasingly variable and inconsistent response to oral dopaminergic therapy, requiring special considerations by the provider. Continuous 24 h/day subcutaneous infusion of foslevodopa/foscarbidopa (LDp/CDp) provides steady dopaminergic stimulation that can reduce sympt...

Background and objectives: ASPEN-1 was a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy, duration of response, and safety of 2 doses of DaxibotulinumtoxinA for Injection (DAXI), a novel botulinum toxin type A formulation in participants with cervical dystonia (CD). Methods: Adults (aged 18-80 years) with mod...

Objective: Current clinician-rated tardive dyskinesia (TD) symptom scales have not addressed the expanding clinical signs and functional impact of TD. The study objective was to develop and test the reliability of a new integrated instrument. Methods: A movement disorder neurologist devised the outline of the rating scale. A Steering Committee (5 n...

Background IPX203 is a novel oral extended‐release formulation of carbidopa/levodopa (CD/LD) developed to address the short half‐life of immediate‐release CD/LD. In the phase 3 RISE‐PD trial, IPX203 significantly improved “Good On” time in patients with Parkinson's disease compared with immediate‐release CD/LD. Objectives To evaluate the safety an...

Background There remains uncertainty as to the optimal way to initiate therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD) to maximize benefit and minimize adversity. Objectives The objective was to determine if P2B001 (a fixed, low‐dose, extended‐release [ER] combination of pramipexole 0.6 mg and rasagiline 0.75 mg) is superior to each of its components and com...

Importance: Levodopa has a short half-life and a limited window of opportunity for absorption in the proximal small intestine. IPX203 is an oral, extended-release formulation of carbidopa-levodopa developed to address these limitations. Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of IPX203 vs immediate-release carbidopa-levodopa in patients wit...

Dopamine agonists (DAs) have demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) but are limited by adverse effects (AEs). DAs can vary considerably in their receptor subtype selectivity and affinity, chemical composition, receptor occupancy, and intrinsic activity on the receptor. Most currently approved DAs for PD treatment primar...

Background Nausea is common upon initiating dopamine agonists in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD); however, pretreatment with an antiemetic is recommended only when initiating apomorphine formulations. Objective Evaluate the need for prophylactic antiemetic use during dose optimization of apomorphine sublingual film (SL-APO). Methods A post...

Background: Antipsychotic-associated movement disorders remain common and disabling. Their screening and assessment are challenging due to clinical heterogeneity and different use of nomenclature between psychiatrists and neurologists. Objective: An International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society subcommittee aimed to rate psychometric qua...

Objectives Currently utilized clinician-rated symptom scales for tardive dyskinesia (TD) have not kept up with the expanding spectrum of TD phenomenology. The objective of this study was to develop and test the reliability of a new instrument, the CTI. Methods A movement disorder neurologist devised the outline of the scale. A steering committee (...

Oral levodopa is the most effective treatment for Parkinson disease, but OFF periods emerge over time. Gastrointestinal dysfunction and food effects impact levodopa absorption, contributing to unpredictable control of OFF periods. Inhaled levodopa powder (Inbrija) is approved for on-demand treatment of OFF periods in patients receiving oral levodop...

Background Levodopa is the most effective symptomatic therapy for Parkinson's disease, but patients with advanced Parkinson's disease develop motor fluctuations with chronic oral levodopa therapy. Foslevodopa-foscarbidopa is a soluble formulation of levodopa and carbidopa prodrugs that is delivered as a 24-h/day continuous subcutaneous infusion, an...

Background: Parkinson disease (PD) is associated with α-synuclein (αS) aggregation within enteric neurons. ENT-01 inhibits the formation of αS aggregates and improved constipation in an open-label study in patients with PD. Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral ENT-01 for constipation and neurologic symptoms in patients with PD...

We examined 2-year longitudinal change in clinical features and biomarkers in LRRK2 non-manifesting carriers (NMCs) versus healthy controls (HCs) enrolled in the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). We analyzed 2-year longitudinal data from 176 LRRK2 G2019S NMCs and 185 HCs. All participants were assessed annually with comprehensive m...

Background The Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale (UDysRS) evaluates dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). A minimal clinically important change (MCIC)—the smallest change in a treatment outcome that a patient considers important—remains undefined for the UDysRS. Objective To utilize pivotal amantadine delayed-release/extended-release...

Background The Parkinson Associated Risk Syndrome (PARS) study was designed to evaluate whether screening with olfactory testing and dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging could identify participants at risk for developing Parkinson's disease (PD). Objective Hyposmia on a single test has been associated with increased risk of PD, but, taken alone, lac...

Background: Aggregated α-synuclein plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. The monoclonal antibody prasinezumab, directed at aggregated α-synuclein, is being studied for its effect on Parkinson's disease. Methods: In this phase 2 trial, we randomly assigned participants with early-stage Parkinson's disease in a 1:1:1...

We report on the initial 17 (11 male:6 female) brain autopsies from across Europe and the United States in the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). Clinical diagnoses were Parkinson's disease (n = 15), multiple system atrophy (n = 1), and Dementia with Lewy bodies (n = 1); average age of death = 72 ± 8 yr. Cognitive assessment at last...

Background: The Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) comprises 50 items, consisting of historical questions and motor ratings, typically taking around 30 minutes to complete. We sought to identify an abbreviated version that could facilitate use in clinical practice or used remotely via telemedicine. Meth...

Introduction Sleep disruptions in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) include difficulty falling/staying asleep, which can contribute to daytime sleepiness and overall worsening of health, mood, and quality of life. Although sleep disturbances in PD are multifactorial, nighttime motor symptoms can negatively affect sleep. To better understand ho...

Introduction Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is an involuntary movement disorder that can result from exposure to dopamine-receptor antagonists (DRAs). Deutetrabenazine demonstrated significant improvements in Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) scores in the 12-week pivotal trials (ARM-TD/AIM-TD). This post hoc analysis assessed the long-term effic...

Introduction Deutetrabenazine is FDA-approved for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia (TD) in adults. In two 12-week pivotal trials (ARM-TD/AIM-TD), deutetrabenazine significantly improved Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) scores and was well-tolerated. This post hoc analysis examined the efficacy and safety of long-term deutetrabenazine t...

Despite levodopa's superior efficacy in reducing the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), its risk to induce motor complications requires consideration of the pros and cons of initiating treatment with levodopa-sparing strategies. The current drive toward early levodopa monotherapy is primarily driven by safety and tolerability concerns with...

Introduction Deutetrabenazine is FDA-approved to treat tardive dyskinesia (TD) based on 2 pivotal, 12-week, placebo-controlled studies (ARM-TD/AIM-TD) evaluating safety and efficacy in patients with baseline total motor Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) score ≥6. This analysis estimated the minimal clinically important change (MCIC) in tot...

Isntroduction Some patients with cervical dystonia (CD) receiving long-term botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) therapy report early waning of treatment benefit before the typical 12-week reinjection interval. Methods This phase 4, open-label, randomized, noninferiority study (CD Flex; NCT01486264) compared 2 incobotulinumtoxinA injection schedules (Short...

Maintaining consistent levodopa benefits while simultaneously controlling dyskinesia can be difficult. Recently, an amantadine delayed release/extended release (DR/ER) formulation (Gocovri®) indicated for dyskinesia received additional FDA approval as an adjunct to levodopa for the treatment of OFF episodes. We evaluated OFF time reductions with am...

Background Deutetrabenazine is a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitor approved for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia (TD) in adults. In two 12-week pivotal studies, deutetrabenazine demonstrated statistically significant improvements in Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) scores, with favorable safety/tolerability in TD patients. Th...

Introduction: Droxidopa is approved to treat neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) symptoms in patients with autonomic failure based on short-term clinical trial data. Additional data on the long-term efficacy of droxidopa are needed. We have evaluated the 12-week efficacy and tolerability of droxidopa in patients with nOH in an open-label peri...

Background The 5-2-1 criteria (≥5 levodopa doses/day, ≥2 hours OFF/day, and ≥1-hour dyskinesia/day) propose to identify people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who are poorly controlled on oral therapies and who may therefore benefit from device-aided therapies. Amantadine-DR/ER is the only medication FDA-approved for both dyskinesia and OFF episodes...

Background and Objectives To review the current evidence on the options available for initiating dopaminergic treatment of motor symptoms in early-stage Parkinson disease and provide recommendations to clinicians. Methods A multidisciplinary panel developed practice recommendations, integrating findings from a systematic review and following an In...

Introduction Cervical dystonia (CD) is a neurologic movement disorder with potentially disabling effects and significant impact on quality of life of those affected. AbobotulinumtoxinA (aboBoNT-A) was initially approved for a dilution of 500 U/1 mL and subsequently for a dilution of 500 U/2 mL, providing flexibility for clinicians to treat CD. Here...

Background Istradefylline is a selective adenosine A2A receptor antagonist for the treatment of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) experiencing OFF episodes while on levodopa/decarboxylase inhibitor. Objective This pooled analysis of eight randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind phase 2b/3 studies evaluated the efficacy and safety of istr...

Importance Urate elevation, despite associations with crystallopathic, cardiovascular, and metabolic disorders, has been pursued as a potential disease-modifying strategy for Parkinson disease (PD) based on convergent biological, epidemiological, and clinical data. Objective To determine whether sustained urate-elevating treatment with the urate p...

Gait is a core motor function and is impaired in numerous neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). Treatment changes in PD are frequently driven by gait assessments in the clinic, commonly rated as part of the Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) assessment (item 3.10). We proposed and evaluated a novel...

Background: Solriamfetol is approved (US and EU) for excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea. Objectives: Evaluate solriamfetol safety/efficacy for EDS in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: Phase 2, double-blind, 4-week, crossover trial: adults with PD and EDS were randomized to sequence A (placebo, solriam...

Levodopa is the most effective symptomatic treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD), but a major treatment challenge is that over time, many patients experience periods of return of PD symptoms intermittently through the day, known as OFF periods. OFF periods typically manifest as a return of motor symptoms but can also involve non-motor symptoms and...

IntroductionGocovri, a bedtime-administered delayed-release/extended-release capsule formulation of amantadine, is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as levodopa-adjunctive therapy for the treatment of OFF episodes and/or dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Part II of the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s...

IntroductionGocovri (amantadine) extended release capsules are approved for treatment of dyskinesia and as a levodopa adjunct for OFF episodes in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We report treatment-related effects on non-motor symptoms (NMS) assessed as secondary outcomes in two trials using the Movement Disorder Society–Unified Parkinson’s...

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Despite data supporting the rapid adoption of telehealth in the delivery of clinical care in North America, the implementation of telehealth visits in clinical research studies has faced critical barriers. These challenges include: (1) variations in state licensure requirements for telehealth; (2) disparities in access to telehealth among disadvant...

Background Deutetrabenazine, a novel vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor, is approved by the FDA for treatment of tardive dyskinesia (TD) in adults. Dopamine-receptor antagonists (DRAs) are associated with worsening of metabolic parameters, including weight gain, hyperlipidemia, and elevated blood glucose. This post hoc analysis ass...

Background The 12-week ARM-TD and AIM-TD studies in tardive dyskinesia (TD) patients showed statistically significant improvements in TD symptoms with deutetrabenazine. The completed open-label extension (OLE) study (SD-809-C−20) evaluated long-term efficacy and safety of deutetrabenazine in TD. Methods Patients who completed ARM-TD or AIM-TD enro...

Background Deutetrabenazine is FDA approved for tardive dyskinesia (TD) based on two 12-week, placebo-controlled studies evaluating safety and efficacy in patients with baseline Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) score ≥6. Deutetrabenazine reduced overall AIMS scores compared with placebo in ARM-TD (–3.0 vs –1.6, P=0.019) and AIM-TD (24 mg/...