Ropinirole Relieves Parkinson's Symptoms

Three clinical studies of SmithKline Beecham's dopamine D2 receptor agonist Requip (ropinirole) have reinforced the value of using the drug in the treatment of patients with early Parkinson's disease. The studies were presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting on March 26.

In the first study, 241 previously-untreated Parkinson's patients were randomized to receive either ropinirole or placebo. The ropinirole-treated patients showed improvements in motor function compared to placebo-treated patients (+24% for ropinirole versus -3% for placebo), which was a statistically-significant difference. Patients on the SB drug also needed significantly less L-dopa rescue (11% versus 29%). Ropinirole was well-tolerated, with the majority of adverse events related to peripheral dopaminergic activity.

Comparative Studies Interim six-month data from a second, three-year study which compared ropinirole with bromocriptine revealed a statistically-significant improvement in motor scores with SB's compound in a subset of patients who were not treated with selegiline (a commonly-used adjunctive therapy in Parkinson's disease). To date, 34% of patients with early Parkinson's have improved with ropinirole, compared to 20% with bromocriptine.