New Drug Suggested for Treating Parkinson's
By Gene Emery
BOSTON, May 17, 2000 (Reuters) - The early stages of Parkinson's
disease, the progressive neurological disorder whose victims include
actor Michael J. Fox and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, should be
treated with a new drug before turning to the standard
treatment of levodopa, according to a study.
Researchers report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine that
the early stages of the disease ``can be managed
successfully for up to five years with a reduced risk'' of muscle
freezing by first using the drug ropinirole ``and supplementing it
with levodopa if necessary.''
British drug giant SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, (NYSE:SBH -
news) (SB.L) which makes ropinirole under the name
Requip, paid for the study. Five of the study's six main investigators,
including lead author, Olivier Rascol of University
Hospital in Toulouse, France, have served as paid consultants to the
company.
Parkinson's generally affects older people
although as many as 15 percent of sufferers may be
diagnosed before they are 50. It afflicts at
least 500,000 Americans, one out of every 100
over the age of 60.
The usual treatment involves correcting the
imbalance in brain chemicals with some form of the
drug levodopa. But levodopa, which doesn't cure
the disease, has some serious side effects
such as blood pressure problems, nausea, vomiting and mental confusion.
The research on ropinirole involved 268 volunteers who were treated for
up to five years at 30 medical centers in Europe,
Israel and Canada.
The patients who took ropinirole were three times more likely to be
able to freely move their muscles than volunteers taking
levodopa, which is made by a variety of companies.
While 45 percent of the 88 levodopa recipients who completed the study
ultimately developed the inability to move their
muscles -- known as dyskinesia -- during the five-year period, the rate
was only 20 percent among the 177 ropinirole patients
who completed the study.
About half the people in each group dropped out of the project. Among
the dropouts, 50 percent of the ropinirole recipients
and 65 percent of the levodopa recipients left because of side effects.
Another side effect was hallucinations.
"Although hallucinations were more frequent in the ropinirole group
than in the levodopa group,'' the researchers said, ``they
were mild and easily managed in most patients.''
Just over 17 percent of the ropinirole patients experienced
hallucinations, three times more than the people on levodopa.
Copyright © 2000 Reuters Limited.
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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