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Alidug, Thank you for your reply. You probably saw the posting copied below about Mirapex. Fran hasn't started the Stalevo yet. She's still taking Sinemet and Requip. She will speak with the neurologist about the Sinemet CR as to whether she should try that before going on the Stalevo. Alison Landes In a message dated 2/12/05 2:03:33 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: The source of this article is NBC12, Birmingham, AL: http://tinyurl.com/4ytkn Parkinson's Drug Linked To Compulsive Behavior Lawsuit Seeks Reparations, Warning Labels UPDATED: 2:09 pm EST February 11, 2005 MILLERSVILLE, Md. -- There are claims that a widely prescribed medication for Parkinson's disease drove some patients to compulsive behavior such as sex, gambling, eating and shopping -- behavior that destroyed personal and professional lives. Joe Neglia, 53, of Millersville, walks with an uneven gait as a result of Parkinson's disease, which was diagnosed in 1994, reported WBAL-TV in Baltimore. "The stiffness in the left leg and the hand were a dead giveaway," Neglia said. As his symptoms progressed with no cure in sight, Neglia's doctor suggested a new drug to try. Mirapex mimics dopamine, a chemical in the brain that allows for smooth, fluid body movements. Like all Parkinson's disease patients, Neglia's body doesn't have enough dopamine, and Mirapex worked. "It is a helpful drug," Neglia said. "I could move around better, more fluid, not as jerky." Mirapex, or pramipexole as it is known generically, is manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. Neglia started the drug in late 1998. At the maximum dose of 4.5 milligrams, his brain was racing, and he developed some obsessive-compulsive behavior. "I could not drive past a McDonald's to save my life," he said. "I would eat voraciously, constantly. I couldn't understand why I'd never been like that before." Neglia gained 50 pounds, but something even more frightening was happening to him, something no one knew about. "It turned into the most horrible god-awful obsession -- gambling," he said. At the time, Neglia lived in California. He discovered he lived within 20 minutes of three casinos. He would go there to gamble three to four times a day -- sitting transfixed in front of a slot machine until the money was gone. "I couldn't understand what was happening to me," he said. "I totally lost control of myself." Neglia said he had always been an organized, thoughtful man, but now his life was quickly disintegrating and he had no idea why. In August 2003, Neglia was online and found a news headline that nearly knocked him out of his chair. "A news headline jumped out at me," he said. "Parkinson's drug linked to obsessive gambling." More research led to more stories of people on Mirapex who developed obsessive-compulsive behaviors -- wrecked marriages, attempted suicide, ruined professional lives. Neglia is now part of a multi-plaintiff lawsuit in California, being handled by attorneys Soheila Azizi and Daniel Kodam. They are seeking reparations and warning labels on Mirapex. They said patients didn't know to ask their doctors about what was happening to them. Dr. William Weiner is the chairman of neurology at the University of Maryland Medical System. He believes the side effects do exist but are extremely rare and that Mirapex is a valuable drug for hundreds of thousands of people. Should doctors warn patients? "To make people worried about every single rare occurrence that happens in a whole population of people taking a drug is just not something that physicians do," Weiner said. In a written statement, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals claimed "there is no scientific evidence of a causal effect between Pramipexole and compulsive behavior." However, the drug manufacturer also said it recently included compulsive behaviors as a possible adverse reaction in the drug's insert. Neglia's attorneys said it's a good start, but not enough. Warning people who take Mirapex is exactly what Neglia believes needs to be done. "If there had been a 2-cent warning label on the bottle, 'Stop in case of compulsive behavior,' it would have saved me a lot of hell," Neglia said. In a message dated 2/12/05 2:03:22 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: Alison, My mom is now on the Stelevo and Mirapex now. I am under the impression that Stelevo is just the Comtan and Sinemet together. Her "on" times are becoming less frequent and the stelevo isn't working like it first did. She has terrible Restless Legs Syndrome and sometimes that is her biggest concern so her Dr.put her on Mirapex. She also has anxiety attacks so she takes Ativan which she probably is addicted to, but at her age who cares if it makes her feel any relief at all. I can't say how much the change in meds helps, but she can't walk at all without them. Alison (luv that name) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alison Landes" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 8:33 AM Subject: Question re: Comtan, Sinemet, Stalevo and Requip > My sister's computer is being repaired. She asked me to submit question to > ListServe about medication. > > She has been taking Sinemet and Requip with a lot of off time. > Neurologist is going to start her on Stalevo with the Requip. > > She has not taken Comtan with Sinemet and Requip. > Nor has she taken Sinemet CR with the Requip. > > Does anyone have any point of reference with the above? > > Thank you. > > Alison Landes Founder/ President Take Charge! Cure Parkinson's, Inc. 1489 W. Palmetto Park Road Suite 442 Boca Raton, Florida 33486 Tel: 561.620.1970 Fax: 561.488.5726 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Web site: _www.cureparkinsons.org_ (http://www.cureparkinsons.org/) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn