Filed at 6:25 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration approved a
new alternative
Wednesday to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease,
Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc.'s Mirapex.
The drug, known chemically as pramipexole, works by mimicking
dopamine, a vital brain chemical
that slowly disappears from Parkinson's patients.
Two other drugs on the market -- including levadopa, the gold
standard for Parkinson's treatment --
also mimic dopamine. But their effects eventually wane as the
disease progresses and they can cause
side effects as doses are increased to compensate, so doctors
hunt alternatives.
Mirapex on Wednesday became the first such alternative
approved since 1989. It will be shipped to
pharmacies next week.
Between 500,000 and 1.5 million Americans have Parkinson's,
which causes progressive muscle
rigidity, tremors and difficulty moving as their dopamine
production is destroyed.
Mirapex taken alone improved early Parkinson's symptoms by 30
percent, allowing doctors to delay
prescribing levadopa, said Pharmacia researcher Baltazar
Gomez-Mancilla.
When combined with levadopa to treat advanced Parkinson's,
Mirapex allowed patients to cut their
daily levadopa doses by 25 percent while still seeing some
improvement in mobility, he said.
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CHARLES T. MEYER, M.D.
MADISON, WISCONSIN
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