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-->>>>>>> Next Section <<<<<<< Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset=US-ASCII This is a retransmission of the original messasge >From: [log in to unmask] >Date: 7/4/97 1:39:11PM >To: "Parkinson's Information Exchange" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Mirapex (Pramepexole) Released > >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 > > >