ergoline and carbidopa--levodopa-drug-combination

Pergolide mesylate, a dopamine agonist, was studied as adjunctive therapy in a 6-month double-blind trial in 20 patients with Parkinson's disease who were achieving less than optimal response from Sinemet. As pergolide or placebo was administered in increasing dosage, Sinemet was reduced if side effects developed. Both the pergolide and placebo groups improved significantly (p less than 0.05). The pergolide group improved 30% at the end of 24 weeks, and the placebo group 23%. There was no significant difference between drug and placebo groups, possibly due to a fortuitous support group and the side effects that may have burdened the pergolide group. Nevertheless, pergolide had a definite antiparkinsonian effect.

Topics: Aged; Carbidopa; Clinical Trials as Topic; Double-Blind Method; Drug Combinations; Ergolines; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Levodopa; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Pergolide

Topics: 5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors; Aged; Antiparkinson Agents; Benzothiazoles; Cabergoline; Carbidopa; Catechols; Drug Combinations; Drug Monitoring; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ergolines; Finasteride; Gambling; Humans; Levodopa; Male; Middle Aged; Nitriles; Parkinson Disease; Pramipexole; Treatment Outcome; Video Games

Dopaminergic agents are commonly used and effective treatments for restless legs syndrome (RLS), a disabling sensorimotor disorder. Less known are some of the potentially disabling side effects of these treatments, particularly iatrogenic gambling addiction, as is described here. Here the authors present a 62-year-old man, with a 20-year history of RLS, who developed gambling addiction while on dopaminergic treatment. He was not forewarned of this side effect, nor was he ever screened for gambling behaviours prior to or during treatment. Eight months after discontinuation of dopaminergic treatment and after 10 sessions of cognitive-behavioural therapy for gambling addiction, his gambling behaviours have partially resolved. To our knowledge, this is the first ever first person account of this condition. To prevent the devastating consequences of gambling addiction or to minimise its impact by early intervention, the authors call for clinicians involved in treatment of RLS to follow these simple measures: screen patients for gambling behaviours prior to the onset and during dopaminergic treatment; forewarn patients of this potential side effect; and if patients screen positive, refer them to specialist gambling treatment services, in addition to making necessary changes to their medication regime.

Topics: Cabergoline; Carbidopa; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Dopamine Agonists; Drug Combinations; Ergolines; Gambling; Humans; Indoles; Levodopa; Male; Middle Aged; Restless Legs Syndrome; Tetrahydronaphthalenes; Thiophenes

Topics: Antiparkinson Agents; Cabergoline; Carbidopa; Compulsive Behavior; Drug Combinations; Ergolines; Humans; Levodopa; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Offenses

We report on 4 new cases of valvular heart disease in Parkinson's disease patients treated with the ergot derivative dopamine agonists pergolide and cabergoline. Noninflammatory fibrotic degeneration of cardiac valves has been reported to occur in patients with carcinoid syndrome and to occasionally complicate therapies with the anti-migraine ergot alkaloid ergotamine and methysergide and with the appetite suppressants fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine. In these cases, the pathogenesis is suspected to involve serotonin-mediated abnormal fibrogenesis by means of the 5-HT2B receptors, which are expressed in the fibroblasts of heart valves. Based on strikingly similar echocardiographic and histopathological features, we strongly suspect that ergot-derived dopamine agonists may cause a valvular heart disease nearly identical to that seen in those conditions. These cases add to a rapidly growing and worrying list of similar published reports, suggesting that we may well be facing a novel, yet unrecognized, complication of this class of agents, which are widely used not only in Parkinson's disease but also in restless legs syndrome and various common endocrine dysfunctions. Therefore, until more is known about the true prevalence of this side effect, we propose that an assessment of cardiac function be performed before and in the course of a long-term therapy with ergot derivative dopamine agonists.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Cabergoline; Carbidopa; Dopamine Agonists; Drug Combinations; Echocardiography, Transesophageal; Ergolines; Ergot Alkaloids; Female; Heart Valve Diseases; Humans; Levodopa; Male; Parkinson Disease; Pergolide

Topics: Antiparkinson Agents; Carbidopa; Drug Combinations; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ergolines; Humans; Levodopa; Lisuride; Parkinson Disease

In a previous study, the sleep pattern in Parkinson's disease patients was found to be altered. The disturbance consisted of a "light fragmented sleep pattern" with increased muscle activity. Using a combined polysomnographic and electromyographic recording technique, we found that a reversal of the light fragmented sleep pattern and normalization of muscle activity during sleep occurred after clinical improvement with dopaminergic treatment. The effect of dopaminergic treatment on sleep disturbance was analyzed. There is an intimate relationship between sleep pattern and the normalization of sleep muscle activity produced by dopaminergic agents.

Topics: Aged; Carbidopa; Drug Combinations; Ergolines; Female; Humans; Levodopa; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Pergolide; Receptors, Dopamine; Sleep Wake Disorders; Sleep, REM

Topics: Athetosis; Carbidopa; Chorea; Drug Combinations; Drug Evaluation; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ergolines; Humans; Hypotension; Levodopa; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Pergolide

We studied the effects of pergolide mesylate in an open trial of 23 patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease (PD). All had suffered from loss of efficacy or dose-limiting side effects on current antiparkinsonian regimens. On pergolide therapy, improvement, which was maintained for 6 months, was noted in some parkinsonian features in all 23 patients. All patients suffering from on-off phenomenon were helped by pergolide. Significant side effects were not encountered. Pergolide is useful in the treatment of PD.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Carbidopa; Child; Child, Preschool; Drug Combinations; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ergolines; Female; Humans; Levodopa; Male; Parkinson Disease; Pergolide

Pergolide was administered to 56 patients with advanced Parkinson disease who were no longer satisfactorily responding to levodopa. The group included 45 patients with on-off phenomena. Pergolide, when combined with levodopa, resulted in a 44% decrease in disability as assessed in the on period, a 15% decrease in disability as assessed in the off period, and a 148% increase in the number of hours in which patients were on (from 4.6 +/- 0.3 hours to 11.4 +/- 0.6 hours). All these changes were significant at 1%. Forty-one of the 56 patients (59%) improved when pergolide was added to levodopa. Mean dose of pergolide was 2.5 mg (range, 0.2 to 10.0 mg). Mean duration of the study was 13 months (range, 1 day to 34 months). Maximum improvement occurred within 2 months and began to decline, usually after 6 months. The major adverse effects necessitating discontinuing pergolide were the occurrence of an organic confusional syndrome (six patients), increased dyskinesias (four patients), and cardiovascular abnormalities (three patients). Nine patients discontinued pergolide because of a lack of effect or declining effect.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Carbidopa; Confusion; Drug Combinations; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ergolines; Female; Humans; Levodopa; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Pergolide

Plasma PRL was measured at 20-min intervals in six patients with Parkinson's disease under various treatment protocols. In addition, 24-h mean GH levels were measured. The results of these studies showed that two untreated patients with Parkinson's disease had normal 24-h mean PRL levels with the normal increase during sleep. During chronic treatment with L-dopa-carbidopa (Sinemet), the 24-h PRL level was 12.8 +/- 4.9 ng/ml (mean +/- SD) and there was persistence of augmented PRL secretion during sleep. The 24-h mean GH level ranged from 1.5-4.4 ng/ml, with a mean of 2.5 ng/ml. The addition of a dopamine agonist (Lergotrile mesylate) resulted in a significant (P less than 0.01) suppression of the 24-h mean PRL levels and abolition of the normal sleep augmentation after 2 weeks of therapy. This suppression was maintained in one patient who was restudied 4 months after the addition of dopamine agonist therapy to L-dopa-carbidopa. The 24-h mean GH levels did not change significantly after the addition of the dopamine agonist when compared to L-dopa-carbidopa alone. These results suggest a dichotomy between the PRL and GH responses to combined L-dopa-carbidopa and dopamine agonist therapy. In addition, the preservation of normal PRL regulation in the two untreated patients with Parkinson's disease suggests that dopaminergic neurons are not universally affected in this disorder.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Carbidopa; Circadian Rhythm; Drug Combinations; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ergolines; Female; Growth Hormone; Humans; Levodopa; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Prolactin; Sleep