 |
 |
-->>>>>>> Next Section <<<<<<< Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset=US-ASCII Here it is Folks Bruce ================= FDA Sends Dopamine-Mimicking Therapy to Market as Alternative Associated Press Thursday, July 3, 1997; Page A15 The Washington Post The Food and Drug Administration approved a new alternative yesterday 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 in Parkinson's patients. Two other drugs on the market -- including levadopa, a standard treatment for Parkinson's -- 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 physicians hunt for alternatives. Mirapex is 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. * Copyright 1997 The Associated Press