Jorge,

I believe the"advertisement" refers to the box and not to the article, if
you go to
their home page, you will find the same format.

Mario


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jorge Romero MD" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2002 8:56 PM
Subject: Re: Please read - important


> To Parkinsn List:
>
> I just wanted to share with you the fact that the "news report" by the
> Health Scout News is an advertisement!!!!  If you don't believe it, go to:
>
> http://www.healthscout.com/template.asp?page=newsdetail&ap=1&id=505649
>
> Maybe Carol Menser and Edith, and all the others who have protested are
> correct after all.  The "reporter" totally misrepresents the findings in
the
> study.
>
> If you go to the Health Scout News Site, and find this article, at the top
> you will see, in small print:
>
>
>             Advertisement
>
>
>                                Printer Friendly  Send to a Friend
>
>
>                         Parkinson's Drugs Don't Cause Sudden Sleep
>
>                         Study: Nodding off during day common, but not
while
> driving
>
>                         By Ed Edelson
>                         HealthScoutNews Reporter
>
>                          TUESDAY, Jan. 22 (HealthScoutNews) -- Debunking
> previous research, a new study finds no connection between medications
> people with Parkinson's disease take and their sudden bouts of sleepiness
> while driving.
>                         The finding is especially important in Canada,
> because that government has required warning letters about pramipexole
> (Mirapex) and ropinirole (Requip), based on studies suggesting they
promote
> sleepiness, says Dr. Douglas E. Hobson, lead author and an assistant
> professor of neurology at the University of Manitoba.
>
>                         "When the Canadian government requested the
warning
> letters on these two drugs, it said the warning was pending further
> information," Hobson says. "This is further information."
>
>                         The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not
issued
> a similar warning, but many doctors here have been cautious about
> prescribing the drugs.
>
>                         Excessive daytime sleepiness is known to be common
> among patients with Parkinson's disease, in which a deficit of the brain
> chemical dopamine can cause trembling, stiffness, difficulty walking, and
> reduced mental function. The two drugs, which promote dopamine activity,
> have been reported to cause sudden sleepiness while driving.
>
>                         But a study of 638 patients at 18 Canadian clinics
> found no such connection, says a report in tomorrow's issue of the Journal
> of the American Medical Association.
>
>                         The researchers used the Epworth Sleepiness Scale
> and an Inappropriate Sleep Composite Score, specifically developed for the
> study, to determine not only the risk of falling asleep, but also how
often
> it occurs.
>
>                         They found 51 percent of the patients reported
> daytime sleepiness, and the number of times that happened was not affected
> by any medication the patients were taking. They also found the risk of
the
> much-feared sudden onset of sleep while driving is rare. Only 16 patients
> reported a sudden onset of sleep while driving, and only 3 said it
occurred
> without warning.
>
>                         The score on the two tests, taken together, "is a
> useful tool to identify patients who are abnormally sleepy, and may play a
> role in increasing patient and physician awareness of this significant
> clinical problem," the journal report says.
>
>                         "We were looking for predictors, because everyone
> was told they shouldn't drive," Hobson says. "This will be helpful in
> selecting out the patients who shouldn't be driving."
>
>                         The study is also useful because it gives solid
> information about unwanted sleepiness, he says.
>
>                         "No one knew how often it happens," Hobson says.
> "Knowing the frequency will help a lot in relation to regulations about
> driving."
>
>                         The study will help doctors treating Parkinson
> patients because it gives them a way of identifying patients at high risk
of
> unwanted sleepiness, says Dr. Cynthia L. Comella, of Rush-Presbyterian-St
> Luke's Medical Center in Chicago.
>
>                         "The most important point of the study is the
> ability to measure sleepiness in Parkinson's disease," says Comella, who
> wrote an accompanying editorial. "The method is quite simple and
clinically
> applicable. Until now, nothing has been shown to assess sleepiness in
> correlation with driving."
>
>                         What To Do
>
>                         "Patients considered to be at risk for falling
> asleep behind the wheel should be cautioned to avoid driving, regardless
of
> the drug treatment," Comella writes.
>
>                         Basic information about Parkinson's disease can be
> found at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke or
the
> National Parkinson Foundation.
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "supermario" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2002 9:32 AM
> Subject: Please read - important
>
>
> Parkinson's Drugs Don't Cause Sudden Sleep
>       by: Ed Edelson, HealthScoutNews Reporter
>
>       01/22/2002
>
> (HealthScoutNews) -- Debunking previous research, a new study finds no
> connection between medications people with Parkinson's disease take and
> their sudden bouts of sleepiness while driving.
>
> The finding is especially important in Canada, because that government has
> required warning letters about pramipexole (Mirapex) and ropinirole
> (Requip), based on studies suggesting they promote sleepiness, says Dr.
> Douglas E. Hobson, lead author and an assistant professor of neurology at
> the University of Manitoba.
>
> "When the Canadian government requested the warning letters on these two
> drugs, it said the warning was pending further information," Hobson says.
> "This is further information."
>
> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not issued a similar warning,
but
> many doctors here have been cautious about prescribing the drugs.
>
> Excessive daytime sleepiness is known to be common among patients with
> Parkinson's disease, in which a deficit of the brain chemical dopamine can
> cause trembling, stiffness, difficulty walking, and reduced mental
function.
> The two drugs, which promote dopamine activity, have been reported to
cause
> sudden sleepiness while driving.
>
> But a study of 638 patients at 18 Canadian clinics found no such
connection,
> says a report in tomorrow's issue of the Journal of the American Medical
> Association.
>
> The researchers used the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and an Inappropriate
Sleep
> Composite Score, specifically developed for the study, to determine not
only
> the risk of falling asleep, but also how often it occurs.
>
> They found 51 percent of the patients reported daytime sleepiness, and the
> number of times that happened was not affected by any medication the
> patients were taking. They also found the risk of the much-feared sudden
> onset of sleep while driving is rare. Only 16 patients reported a sudden
> onset of sleep while driving, and only 3 said it occurred without warning.
>
> The score on the two tests, taken together, "is a useful tool to identify
> patients who are abnormally sleepy, and may play a role in increasing
> patient and physician awareness of this significant clinical problem," the
> journal report says.
>
> "We were looking for predictors, because everyone was told they shouldn't
> drive," Hobson says. "This will be helpful in selecting out the patients
who
> shouldn't be driving."
>
> The study is also useful because it gives solid information about unwanted
> sleepiness, he says.
>
> "No one knew how often it happens," Hobson says. "Knowing the frequency
will
> help a lot in relation to regulations about driving."
>
> The study will help doctors treating Parkinson patients because it gives
> them a way of identifying patients at high risk of unwanted sleepiness,
says
> Dr. Cynthia L. Comella, of Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center in
> Chicago.
>
> "The most important point of the study is the ability to measure
sleepiness
> in Parkinson's disease," says Comella, who wrote an accompanying
editorial.
> "The method is quite simple and clinically applicable. Until now, nothing
> has been shown to assess sleepiness in correlation with driving."
>
>
>
>
>

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