apomorphine is a dopamine agonist that acts primarily
on the dopamine D4 receptor (less so on D2, D3 and D5,
and minimally on D1)

I believe it is approved in the USA for use only as a
subcutaneous injection to be used as a rescue when a
sudden off leaves one frozen.

I also believe it has been approved in Europe for some
time for the use described in the article.

It is made by Vernalis.

There is a wealth of informatiion about drugs on the
FDA website - both the Orange Book allows you more
search options (i.e., you can search on the patent,
the active ingredient, the trade name, applicant
holder and application # (not that anyone would know
that, but there it is) but give you only the most
basic information:

http://www.fda.gov/cder/ob/

Drugs@FDA does not allow you to search on company
name, just active ingredient and proprietary name, but
it often provides the approval history for a drug,
and, most importantly in my opinion, sometimes has the
label/package insert, which sometimes contains very
interesting information:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/




--- rayilynlee <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> "It doesn't work for everyone" is certainly true of
> all PD meds...I wonder
> why.  How depressing.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Meg Duggan" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 7:18 AM
> Subject: Re: apopmorphine
>
>
> > Apomorphine is an injectible rescue therapy, trade
> name Apokyn in US.
> > Didn't do very well at launch, mainly because FDA
> insisted that patients
> > recieve training from neuros via several office
> visits. I believe that
> > Bertek had the drug at launch but has since sold
> it off.  Not sure who
> > owns
> > rights now, but I could certainly find out. I know
> a couple of people that
> > use it to kick on, not cheap and doesn't work for
> everyone.  Meg
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
> rayilynlee
> > Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 10:55 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: apopmorphine
> >
> >
> > Anyone know anything about this drug?
> >
> > I WON'T BE BEATEN BY PARKINSON'S
> > EX-CHAMPION BODYBUILDER IS LIFTING WEIGHTS AGAIN
> AFTER 15 YEARS THANKS TO
> > REVOLUTIONARY COMPUTERISED DRUG BELT
> > By Samantha Booth
> > A FORMER champion body builder, who was crippled
> by Parkinson's disease
> > for
> > 15 years, has had his life transformed by
> pioneering treatment.
> > Fitness fanatic Michael Thompson, 59, won Mr
> Inverclyde and Mr East of
> > Scotland titles until he was struck down by
> Parkinson's at the age of 44.
> > Crippled and confined to a wheelchair by the age
> of 57, Michael's once
> > active life was destroyed by the disease.
> > But now, after receiving the groundbreaking drug
> Apomorphine, Michael is
> > back lifting weights again.
> > He hopes his experience can help lead to a major
> breakthrough for
> > thousands
> > of other sufferers.
> > Parkinson's disease, which affects one in 500
> people across Britain, had
> > left the former champion bodybuilder suffering
> from uncontrollable
> > tremors.
> > But after becoming only one of a handful of people
> across the UK to try a
> > pioneering treatment, Michael is walking - and
> even lifting weights.
> > Michael, of Greenock, has a special pump on a belt
> around his waist which
> > gradually releases a drug into his stomach to
> control his tremors.
> > Parkinson's has been had a high profile in recent
> years with celebrities
> > such as Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox among the
> four million sufferers.
> > After an agonising 13 years of suffering,
> Michael's doctor recommended
> > Apomorphine two years ago.
> > Parkinson's is a progressive neurological
> condition caused by the death of
> > nerve cells in the base of the brain, called
> neurons.
> > These nerves usually produce a chemical called
> dopamine that is used by
> > the
> > movement centres of the brain to maintain smooth
> and fluid movement, and
> > as
> > Parkinson's disease progresses, they slowly
> degenerate or die off.
> > The brain loses its ability to produce dopamine,
> causing sufferers to lose
> > control of their body and muscle movement.
> > They experience uncontrollable shaking, stiffness
> in the limbs and
> > slowness
> > of movement.
> > Apomorphine is often given to sufferers who have
> had Parkinson's for 10 to
> > 15 years, when tablets no longer work.
> > The drug does not cure the disease but controls
> the shaking and stiffness
> > by
> > imitating the action of dopamine and helping the
> brain transmit signals to
> > control body movements.
> > It can be used either as an intermittent injection
> to manage temporary
> > lapses in control of the condition, or, as in
> Michael's case, by
> > continuous
> > infusion through a computerised pump.
> > The drug was discovered in the Fifties, but it was
> not until the Eighties
> > that it was used both in the diagnosis and
> treatment of Parkinson's. It
> > has
> > only been used for continuous infusion in recent
> years using the
> > computerised pump.
> > After initially getting a specialist nurse to fit
> the pump every morning,
> > Michael's wife Elizabeth, 60, now does it herself.
> > She gives Michael a four mg dose of the drug every
> morning through a
> > syringe
> > which is fitted to the pump. The pump is connected
> to a line which is
> > inserted into the skin on his stomach.
> > The computerised device, tied around Michael's
> waist, gradually releases
> > the
> > drug into his body over the next 12 hours.
> > Dr Roger Barker, an expert on Parkinson's disease
> from Cambridge
> > University,
> > said the drug was only used when other treatments
> were no longer
> > controlling
> > the condition.
> > But he stressed Apomorphine was not a cure, simply
> a way of managing the
> > symptoms. "The disease will carry on progressing,
> and most people will
> > find
> > several years into the treatment that they will
> start to break down
> > again,"
> > he said.
> > "They will usually get a few good years and then
> move on to whatever drug
> > is
> > available next. They will stay on it until the
> drug is not working any
> > longer, or they start getting side effects."
> > Potential side effects include confusion, skin
> irritation or feeling sick
> > or
> > faint.
> > Elizabeth said: "I don't want people to think
> Michael has been cured
> > because
> > he hasn't. He still has Parkinson's disease. This
> is just a way of
> > managing
> > it.
> > "Every morning, he can hardly move at all until I
> give him the drug. Once
> > I
> > have put it into the pump, it takes half an hour
> to an hour for it to kick
> > in, and then he is much better for the rest of the
> day.
> > "At night, he can lie in bed hardly able to move
> at all."
> > But Michael is delighted at the improvement.
> Before he received the
> > treatment, people often thought he was drunk when
> he fell down in the
> > street.
> > One day, when he was out with his four-year-old
> granddaughter, Michael was
> > shocked to be accused of being drunk.
> > He said: "One guy said to me: 'That is ridiculous.
> You in charge of a
> > little
> > girl when you are drunk'.
> > "I replied: 'You're wrong. I suffer from
> Parkinson's'. It is amazing how
> > many people can be cruel and think that you are
> drunk."
> > Elizabeth struggled to look after Michael as his
> symptoms became worse.
> > She
> > said: "Since he started on the pump, I have
> noticed a great difference in
> > Michael.
> > "The nurses wish they had taken a video of Michael
> before he got this pump
> > to compare it to how he is now. I hope other
> people will get to know about
> > this drug and it can help them too."
> > Although he will never be cured, the drug has
> given Michael a new lease of
> > life.
> > "Now I am able to go back to the gym to train, but
> I am only allowed to go
> > with a carer," he said. "They won't let me go back
> in on my own.
> > "When I get the pump put in each the morning it
> takes 30 minutes to an
> > hour
> > for it to work. After that, I don't even notice it
> for the rest of the
> > day.
> > Now I don't fall down in the street anymore."
> >
> >
>
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