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Parkinson=B9s drug approved - By Natalie Armstrong TORONTO (CP) A drug recently approved for use in Canada could offer a longer, normal life to those who suffer from Parkinson=B9s disease, its= makers say. Ropinirole hydrochloride, marketed under the name ReQuip, is said to relieve= =20 Parkinson=B9s symptoms such as uncontrollable movements without the side effects of the standard drug levodopa, or L-dopa. The drug will allow patients to live =B3normal lives, longer,=B2 said Roger White, medical director for SmithKline Beecham Inc., which developed the= drug.=20 Although the new drug was announced Tuesday, doctors not related to the study were unable to comment. It=B9s backers say ReQuip solves problems patients faced on L-dopa since it was approved in the 1970s. =B3We=B9ve developed new theories in Parkinson=B9s disease to try to change= the treatment approach and delay the onset of these troublesome side effects,=B2 said Dr. Janis Miyasaki, a Toronto neurologist. ReQuip is most beneficial to people who are diagnosed with the disease early. But those who are in the mature stage of the disease can lessen the dosage of L-dopa by taking ReQuip, Miyasaki said. L-dopa could treat disease symptoms like tremors, slowness in movement, and rigidity, but the side effects were devastating to the quality of life of Parkinson=B9s sufferers. =B3The drawbacks of levodopa occur within two to five years of initiating treatment,=B2 said Miyasaki. =B3That period is called the honeymoom period= where people have an excellent response to treatment.=B2 As the benefit of L-dopa wears off, which can be sudden or gradual, the patient develops =B3abnormal involuntary movements,=B2 she said. =B3These movements may be fixed postures, so that makes it difficult for= them to use their hands or even walk,=B2 Miyasaki said, adding that they can be more troublesome than the actual symptoms of the disease itself. =B3A new treatment approach is to delay the onset of use of levodopa,=B2 she said. =B3There is evidence in animal studies that exposure to levodopa may prime the brain to develop these side effects.=B2 Living without side effects is important to 46-year-old Ian Patterson, who= was=20 diagnosed with Parkinson=B9s disease when he was 37. After taking L-dopa for the first five years of his illness, side effects started.=20 =B3I=B9m probably moving now, but I don=B9t really realize it,=B2 he said. Patterson, a father of two, likes to attend his 12-year-old son=B9s hockey= games.=20 =B3I can=B9t sit in the front rows, because I draw attention to myself,=B2 Patterson said. =B3At the arena, most of the parents ... think these involuntary movements are part of the disease. It=B9s really the side= effects of the levodopa.=B2 The known side effects of ReQuip are nausea and insomnia, which L-dopa also shares. The cause of Parkinson=B9s disease is unknown, and there is no known cure. There are 100,000 Canadians with Parkinson=B9s disease, most are over 60= years old.=20 Although the disease is known to attack the older population, about 10 per cent develop the disorder before age 40. The drug has been approved in the Britain, France, Germany, and Denmark.=20 CP 1745ES 26-08-97