Introduction Narcolepsy is a chronic and rare hypersomnia of central origin characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and a complex array of symptoms as well as by several medical comorbidities. With growing pharmacological options, polytherapy may increase the possibility of a patient-centered management of narcolepsy symptoms. The aims of our study are to describe a large cohort of Italian patients with narcolepsy who were candidates for pitolisant treatment and to compare patients' subgroups based on current drug prescription (drug-naive patients in whom pitolisant was the first-choice treatment, switching to pitolisant from other monotherapy treatments, and adding on in polytherapy). Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey based on Italian data from the inclusion visits of the Post Authorization Safety Study of pitolisant, a 5-year observational, multicenter, international study. Results One hundred ninety-one patients were enrolled (76.4% with narcolepsy type 1 and 23.6% with narcolepsy type 2). Most patients (63.4%) presented at least one comorbidity, mainly cardiovascular and psychiatric. Pitolisant was prescribed as an add-on treatment in 120/191 patients (62.8%), as switch from other therapies in 42/191 (22.0%), and as a first-line treatment in 29/191 (15.2%). Drug-naive patients presented more severe sleepiness, lower functional status, and a higher incidence of depressive symptoms. Conclusion Our study presents the picture of a large cohort of Italian patients with narcolepsy who were prescribed with pitolisant, suggesting that polytherapy is highly frequent to tailor a patient-centered approach.

Mutti, C., Brunetti, V., Figorilli, M., Liguori, C., Pizza, F., Proserpio, P., et al. (2022). Clinical characteristics of a large cohort of patients with narcolepsy candidate for pitolisant: a cross-sectional study from the Italian PASS Wakix® Cohort. NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES, 43(9), 5563-5574 [10.1007/s10072-022-06210-9].

Clinical characteristics of a large cohort of patients with narcolepsy candidate for pitolisant: a cross-sectional study from the Italian PASS Wakix® Cohort

Liguori, Claudio;Centonze, Diego;Izzi, Francesca;Placidi, Fabio;
2022-09-01

Abstract

Introduction Narcolepsy is a chronic and rare hypersomnia of central origin characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and a complex array of symptoms as well as by several medical comorbidities. With growing pharmacological options, polytherapy may increase the possibility of a patient-centered management of narcolepsy symptoms. The aims of our study are to describe a large cohort of Italian patients with narcolepsy who were candidates for pitolisant treatment and to compare patients' subgroups based on current drug prescription (drug-naive patients in whom pitolisant was the first-choice treatment, switching to pitolisant from other monotherapy treatments, and adding on in polytherapy). Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey based on Italian data from the inclusion visits of the Post Authorization Safety Study of pitolisant, a 5-year observational, multicenter, international study. Results One hundred ninety-one patients were enrolled (76.4% with narcolepsy type 1 and 23.6% with narcolepsy type 2). Most patients (63.4%) presented at least one comorbidity, mainly cardiovascular and psychiatric. Pitolisant was prescribed as an add-on treatment in 120/191 patients (62.8%), as switch from other therapies in 42/191 (22.0%), and as a first-line treatment in 29/191 (15.2%). Drug-naive patients presented more severe sleepiness, lower functional status, and a higher incidence of depressive symptoms. Conclusion Our study presents the picture of a large cohort of Italian patients with narcolepsy who were prescribed with pitolisant, suggesting that polytherapy is highly frequent to tailor a patient-centered approach.
set-2022
Pubblicato
Rilevanza internazionale
Articolo
Esperti anonimi
Settore MED/26 - NEUROLOGIA
English
Con Impact Factor ISI
Combined therapy
Pitolisant
Polytherapy
Sleep
Sleepiness
Treatment
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Piperidines
Disorders of Excessive Somnolence
Narcolepsy
Mutti, C., Brunetti, V., Figorilli, M., Liguori, C., Pizza, F., Proserpio, P., et al. (2022). Clinical characteristics of a large cohort of patients with narcolepsy candidate for pitolisant: a cross-sectional study from the Italian PASS Wakix® Cohort. NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES, 43(9), 5563-5574 [10.1007/s10072-022-06210-9].
Mutti, C; Brunetti, V; Figorilli, M; Liguori, C; Pizza, F; Proserpio, P; Sacco, T; Pedrazzi, G; Lecomte, I; Blanchard, N; Agostoni, Ec; Bonanni, E; Ce...espandi
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/306314
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