March 20, 2006

Dopamine Agonists May Lead to Compulsive Behavior

Many people with Parkinson's disease who are taking dopamine agonists such as Mirapex and Permax are finding that they have new problems: compulsive gambling, overactive sex drive, and other compulsive behaviors. Some patients are suing the drug companies "to recover the money they lost gambling, on the grounds that the companies did not do enough to warn about these risks." The drug companies say there's no scientific proof that their drugs cause comulsive behavior. However:

... a recent analysis headed by FDA scientist Ana Szarfman found a strong association between pathological gambling and dopamine agonists. The statistics from a federal adverse-events database are not conclusive, but FDA officials regularly mine the data to spot red flags. (Washington Post)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Parkinson's Disease