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>
>Study Shows Ropinirole Is An Effective Treatment For Parkinson's Disease
>
>Ropinirole Offers Long-term Control of Motor Symptoms and Delays Need for
>Levodopa Therapy
>
>Boston, MA, April 16, 1997  --  Patients with early Parkinson's disease can
>achieve effective control of motor symptoms when treated with ropinirole
>(Requip, SmithKline Beecham), according to a new twelve month study.  The
>study also showed that significantly more patients treated with ropinirole
>did not require supplemental treatment with levodopa compared to
>placebo-treated patients.  Ropinirole is an important development in the
>treatment of Parkinson's disease.  Unlike currently available dopamine
>agonists, ropinirole has demonstrated efficacy in placebo-controlled
>clinical trials when used as early monotherapy and may offer a new
>approach to treating Parkinson's disease.  These results were presented
>today at the 49th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology
>(AAN) in Boston.
>
>Parkinson's disease patients suffer from a deficiency of dopamine in the
>brain.  Levodopa, which is a precursor of dopamine, is administered as a
>form of replacement therapy.  Although this drug is very effective
>initially, after long-term use many patients develop disabling side
>effects which include dyskinesias (involuntary movements such as
>twitching, nodding or jerking), neuropsychiatric problems (e.g.
>hallucinations) and fluctuations of motor response.
>
>Dopamine agonists are also administered to correct the dopamine deficiency
>in Parkinson's disease patients and thereby reduce symptoms.  These drugs
>mimic the effects of dopamine by binding to and stimulating dopamine
>receptors in the brain.  A reduced level of dopamine at these receptors is
>believed to cause the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.  Ropinirole
>is a second-generation, non-ergot dopamine agonist that selectively binds
>to the D2 family of receptors.  Clinical studies have shown the
>effectiveness of ropinirole in improving the motor symptoms of Parkinson's
>disease, either as early monotherapy or in the later stages as adjunctive
>therapy with levodopa in patients experiencing motor fluctuations.
>Currently available dopamine agonists are indicated for use only in
>advanced Parkinson's disease.
>
>The results presented today were from a continuation of an initial six
>month, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.  In the initial
>six month trial, which was presented at last year's AAN meeting, patients
>treated with ropinirole showed significant improvement in motor function,
>and significantly fewer of these patients required supplemental levodopa
>therapy compared to the placebo patients.
>
>Patients who satisfactorily completed the initial trial were eligible for
>enrollment in the double blind, placebo-controlled, six month extension
>study.  A total of 147 patients elected to enter the extension study.
>Investigators assessed the efficacy of ropinirole over the entire twelve
>month period.  A statistically significantly greater proportion of
>patients in the ropinirole group (44 percent) received monotherapy for
>twelve months without the need for levodopa, compared to the placebo group
>(22.4 percent).  In addition, fewer patients treated with ropinirole (19
>percent) required additional symptomatic therapy with levodopa compared to
>patients in the placebo group (45.6 percent) at the end of the twelve
>month period.  This difference was also statistically significant.
>
>Parkinson's disease, which affects between 500,000 and 1,000,000
>Americans, is a chronic and progressive neurological disorder that causes
>uncontrollable tremors, rigidity of the muscles and other severe motor
>impairments.  Parkinson's disease results from the death of nerve cells in
>a critical area of the brain called the substantia nigra.  These nerve
>cells normally produce dopamine, a chemical messenger that plays an
>important role in motor control by transmitting signals between the
>substantia nigra and another critical area of the brain called the
>striatum.  Dopamine depletion results in an impaired ability to initiate
>and control movements.
>
>Requip is currently under review at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
>(FDA) for treatment of Parkinson's disease, both as early monotherapy and
>as adjunctive treatment with levodopa.
>
>
>
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