Drug slows onset of Parkinson's

[bongme]

hi

April 17, 2002

The Times

By Mark Henderson

AN ADVANCED drug for Parkinson’s disease is 30 per cent better at slowing its progress than an older treatment.

A study has shown that ropinirole, which has the brand name ReQuip, is much more effective than L-dopa, the traditonal Parkinson’s drug, at preserving levels of dopamine, a signalling chemical in the brain that is depleted in patients with the disease.

Scientists at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, found that patients taking ReQuip lose dopamine function at a rate more than 30 per cent slower than those on L-dopa.

The results, which were reported yesterday at the American Academy of Neurology conference in Denver, Colorado, indicate that ReQuip could benefit patients who are not being prescribed the drug. It is already licensed for use in Britain.

Bongme