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Drug side effects

safinamide Side Effects

The reactions most often reported to the FDA for safinamide (also sold as Xadago), with demographics, serious outcomes, and reporting trends.

Data updated 2026-05-15

1,205
FAERS reports

Data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), 2016 to 2025. A FAERS report records a temporal association, not proof of cause. See our methodology for how figures are compiled and de-duplicated.

The most commonly reported side effects of safinamide come from 1,205 reports to the FDA, broken down here by frequency, patient demographics, and serious outcomes.

This page analyzes 1,205 reports to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) for safinamide (Xadago): the reactions reported most often, who reported them, serious outcomes such as hospitalization, and year-over-year trends. A FAERS report does not prove the drug caused the effect, and report volume tracks how widely a drug is used, not how likely an effect is for any one person. Educational information, not medical advice.

Total Reports

1,205

Reports Mentioning Death

151

12.5% of reports — not proof the medicine caused the death

Hospitalizations

496

41.2% of reports

Top Indication

Parkinson^S Disease

Most Reported Adverse Reactions

FALL
154
HALLUCINATION
142
DYSKINESIA
137
GAIT DISTURBANCE
93
DEATH
90
PARKINSON^S DISEASE
89
TREMOR
81
FATIGUE
76
FREEZING PHENOMENON
74
ON AND OFF PHENOMENON
72
SOMNOLENCE
64
ANXIETY
61
NAUSEA
60
DIZZINESS
56
WEIGHT DECREASED
54
BRADYKINESIA
53
CONFUSIONAL STATE
53
CONSTIPATION
52
DEVICE ISSUE
48

Who Reports Side Effects

Gender Distribution

Female 456 (41%)
Male 648 (59%)

Age Distribution

0-17 2 (0%)
18-44 10 (1%)
45-64 143 (18%)
65-74 330 (41%)
75+ 324 (40%)

Reporting Trend by Year

16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Reactions in Death Reports

Top reactions reported in 151 reports where death was an outcome. These are voluntarily reported and do not establish causation.

Reaction Reports
DEATH 90
GENERAL PHYSICAL HEALTH DETERIORATION 16
PARKINSON^S DISEASE 12
FALL 11
VOMITING 9
DYSKINESIA 8
EPILEPSY 7
MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION 7
DYSPHAGIA 6
HALLUCINATION 6
HEAD INJURY 6
DIZZINESS 5
LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS 5
ON AND OFF PHENOMENON 5
PNEUMONIA 5
RESTLESSNESS 5
TREMOR 5
UNRESPONSIVE TO STIMULI 5
DEVICE DISLOCATION 4
FATIGUE 4

Reactions in Hospitalization Reports

Top reactions in 496 reports where hospitalization was an outcome.

Reaction Reports
FALL 107
HALLUCINATION 69
DYSKINESIA 61
PARKINSON^S DISEASE 39
ON AND OFF PHENOMENON 38
GAIT DISTURBANCE 37
HYPERKINESIA 33
GENERAL PHYSICAL HEALTH DETERIORATION 31
WEIGHT DECREASED 31
MOBILITY DECREASED 30
SOMNOLENCE 29
CONFUSIONAL STATE 28
FREEZING PHENOMENON 27
ASTHENIA 26
DEVICE ISSUE 25
HYPOKINESIA 25
DEVICE DISLOCATION 23
TREMOR 23
URINARY TRACT INFECTION 22

Compare safinamide vs acamprosate →

What the FAERS Data Reveals About safinamide Side Effects

The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) contains 1,205 voluntary reports linked to safinamide and its brand equivalents (Xadago), spanning 2016 through 2025. Of those, 151 (12.5%) listed death as an outcome and 496 (41.2%) involved hospitalization. The most common indication reported alongside adverse events was Parkinson^S Disease.

Demographic breakdowns help contextualize who is being exposed to the drug. Of reports with known sex, 41% were female and 59% male; age distribution skews toward 65-74, with 330 reports in that bracket. The single most reported reaction is fall with 154 submissions, followed by hallucination and dyskinesia.

How to read these numbers

FAERS is a signal-detection tool, not a scorecard. Reports are voluntary, and a single case may list multiple suspect drugs, so numbers above should not be read as incidence rates or per-patient risk. Widely prescribed drugs naturally accumulate more reports than niche therapies even when individual risk is low. These aggregates are useful for spotting patterns that merit further pharmacovigilance, not for choosing between medications. This page is for educational reference only and is not medical advice, speak with a licensed clinician about any side-effect concerns.