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Supermario: Thanks for the report, and without having any disrespect to Dr. D. Hobson, a MDS neurologist who is considered to be among one of the most respected MDS neurologists in North America this Media report on the research paper becomes very controversial. I have to ask these why's. 1. Why did I not have any sleep attacks daily prior to using either Requip and/or Mirapex? 2. Why do I not have any sleep attacks since, for over a year, after having discontinued their use? 3. Why did my neurologist request that I turn over/in my driver's license to him when I reported my sleep attacks? 4. Why was my medication changed IMMEDIATELY THAT DAY to seligilene without any titration (normally 8 weeks)off Mirapex when I refused to turn my license in? 5. Were the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Sleep Composite Score, the appropriate tools to effectively measure these sleep attacks? 6. If I knew I was going to lose my license and my ability to earn a living ( self employment) for me and my family and have to drive daily- would anyone placed in this position- want to correctly report those attacks?( I did). Further If someone knows prior to reporting, what the dire consequences will be, of reporting the frequency of sleep attacks would they, in being of human in nature, want to reduce that reporting frequency? 7. If I had killed someone, while driving, especially a family member during one of my sleep attacks, while driving, could I have lived with that for the rest of my life? NOT LIKELY! Does anyone really want the stress of mind and nightmare, after tossin my cookies and in a cold sweat, stopped on the shoulder of the highway, less than 300 yards behind me, where I had a sleep attack and drove alongside a walking crowd ( at speed of 36mph/60 kph) of 10-20 children,women, and men-- REALIZING then that, had I, drifted to the right during my sleep attack that I could have killed ALL or SOME of them?? I know, many fellow parkies, that I have personally talked to, who are using either drug, and are having or had these same sleep attacks and who are driving. After reading this posting I am both shocked and surprised at the way the Media reported results of this research paper. If the Media is helping the Drug Company in flogging these drugs through distortion of the facts , then it is a sad time for all of us who are suffering and losing our quality of life because of their specific use. It is my personal statement that the following report of the Media on this research paper on these two drugs does not reflect my personal experience. Don PD 53/4 On Saturday, February 2, 2002, at 09:32 AM, supermario wrote: > Parkinson's Drugs Don't Cause Sudden Sleep > > (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." > > >