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---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FDA approves Parkinson's treatment ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (September 23, 1997 06:51 a.m. EDT) -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved another alternative treatment for Parkinson's disease sufferers, SmithKline Beecham's Requip. An estimated 500,000 to 1.5 million Americans have Parkinson's, which causes progressive muscle rigidity, tremors and difficulty moving as a vital brain chemical called dopamine gradually disappears from the body. Requip, known chemically as ropinirole, works by mimicking dopamine. Its approval was announced Monday. Three other drugs on the market -- including the gold standard, levadopa -- also mimic dopamine. But their effectiveness gradually wanes as the disease progresses and they can cause side effects as doses are escalated to compensate, so doctors hope to find enough alternatives to switch patients between treatments. Requip taken alone modestly improved early Parkinson's symptoms, by 24 percent, and when added to levadopa in advanced Parkinson's, improved symptoms enough for patients to cut their levadopa dosages, SmithKline said. Side effects included nausea and dizziness, and SmithKline said some patients could experience episodes of low blood pressure or hallucinations. Copyright 1997 Nando.net Copyright 1997 The Associated Press <http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/health/092397/health22_202_noframes.html> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask]