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An overnight switch to ropinirole therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease M Caesi, A Antonini, CB Mariani, S Tesei, AL Zecchinelli, M Barichella, G Pezzoli J Neural Transmission 1999;106:925-929 Sixty-eight PD patients with inadequate response to either pergolide (n=46) or bromocriptine (n=22) discontinued their initial dopamine agonist in the evening and commenced ropinirole the next morning. Dose ratios used were 10:6 bromocriptine to ropinirole, and 1:6 pergolide to ropinirole, with slight dose adjustments as needed after the switch. No significant changes in UPDRS scores were seen at the four-week evaluation, except in ADL score, which was significantly improved for patients formerly on bromocriptine. No patient experienced an increase in dopaminergic adverse effects as a result of the switch. The authors conclude, "The results of this study suggest that instantaneous, overnight switching from one dopamine agonist to another may be an effective and well-tolerated therapeutic approach," and note that overnight switching may improve compliance and reduce cost in comparison to slow down-titration and up-titration. Copyright 2000 WE MOVE Editor: Richard Robinson ([log in to unmask]) This service is provided free of charge to the Internet community, courtesy of WEMOVE.org. This document may be freely redistributed by email only in its unedited form. We encourage you to share it with your colleagues. E-MOVE archives, plus information on subscribing, are available at http://www.wemove.org/emove. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to [log in to unmask], with "unsubscribe e-move" in the message body. E-MOVE is a service of WE MOVE (Worldwide Education and Awareness for Movement Disorders) 204 West 84th Street New York, NY 10024 TEL 800-437-MOV2 TEL 212-241-8567 FAX 212-987-7363 http://www.wemove.org Charles T. Meyer, M.D. Middleton(Madison) WI [log in to unmask]