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>Dear Webmaster or Site Administrator, > >Below please find a press release concerning timely and important >information about Parkinson's Disease that we think may be of value to your >web site. > >Please feel free to publish this press release on your site. > >In the event that you have any questions, please email me at [log in to unmask] > >Sincerely, > >Jennifer Kinscy >[log in to unmask] > >****************************************************************************** >For further information on Requip, a full version of the Requip press >release is available FREE by e-mailing [log in to unmask] In the >subject area please write subscribe parkinsons "your e-mail address." The >information will automatically be sent to you. To delete your name please >write unsubscribe parkinsons "your e-mail address." >****************************************************************************** > >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. > > > > ###