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Drug Seems to Speed Recovery After Traumatic Brain Injury
Posted 29 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 29 – A drug that's typically used to treat the flu and Parkinson's disease appears to speed recovery in traumatic brain injury patients, a new study indicates. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) victims who weren't fully conscious and were discharged to rehabilitation facilities after hospitalization were given amantadine hydrochloride. The drug is already given "off-label" to such patients, but if and how much it helps has remained unclear. While taking the drug, the patients given amantadine scored better on behavioral tests that measure how well the brain is functioning compared to a group of patients given a placebo, researchers report in the March 1 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. "Amantadine appeared to increase the rate of recovery compared to placebo. Patients got better faster while they were on the drug," said study co-author Joseph Giacino, director ... Read more
Related support groups: Head Injury, Amantadine, Symmetrel
Parkinson's Drugs Linked to Behavior Problems in Study
Posted 30 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, March 29 – Parkinson's disease drugs called dopamine agonists appear to cause impulse control problems in almost one-quarter of patients, says a new study. Previous research has linked dopamine agonists, which include Mirapex (pramipexole) and Requip (ropinirole), to impulse control disorders, such as gambling addiction and hypersexuality, and to compulsive behaviors, such as binge eating, overspending and excessive computer use. In this study, Mayo Clinic researchers analyzed Parkinson's disease patient records over two years. "What we found was that as many as 22 percent of patients during that two-year period had a new-onset impulse control disorder," lead investigator and neurology fellow Dr. Anhar Hassan said in a Mayo Clinic news release. The higher the dose of dopamine agonist, the more likely a patient was to develop an impulse control disorder, the researchers found. ... Read more
Related support groups: Parkinson's Disease, Mirapex, Requip, Sinemet, Azilect, Ropinirole, Bromocriptine, Selegiline, Emsam, Levodopa, Carbidopa, Parlodel, Pramipexole, Cabergoline, Amantadine
Parkinson's Drugs Tied to Compulsive Behaviors
Posted 10 May 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 10 – Medicines used to treat Parkinson's disease may increase the risk of impulse control disorders, such as problem gambling, compulsive shopping and binge eating, researchers warn. In a new study that included 3,090 patients being treated for Parkinson's at 46 movement disorder centers in the United States and Canada, the researchers found that 13.6 percent of the patients had impulse control disorders. These impulse disorders included gambling (5 percent), compulsive sexual behavior (3.5 percent), compulsive shopping (5.7 percent) and binge eating (4.3 percent), and nearly 4 percent of the patients had two or more of these disorders. Impulse control disorders were more common among patients taking dopamine agonist medications (17.1 percent) than in those not taking the drugs (6.9 percent), the study authors found. Other factors associated with impulse control disorders ... Read more
Related support groups: Parkinson's Disease, Mirapex, Requip, Sinemet, Azilect, Ropinirole, Bromocriptine, Selegiline, Emsam, Levodopa, Carbidopa, Parlodel, Pramipexole, Cabergoline, Amantadine
Cutting Parkinson's Drug Dose Linked to Withdrawal Effects
Posted 14 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13 – Reduced dosages of dopamine agonists, drugs routinely used to treat Parkinson's disease, can cause symptoms similar to those experienced by addicts in withdrawal, such as anxiety, panic attacks, pain, dizziness and drug cravings, researchers say. The symptoms of what the researchers have dubbed "dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome" have been linked to a disruption in levels of dopamine in the brain, according to the study published in the Jan. 12 issue of the Archives of Neurology. "Like cocaine and methamphetamines, dopamine agonists work by stimulating the reward pathways in the brain," senior study author Dr. Melissa J. Nirenberg, said in a news release from Weill Cornell Medical Center. "For this reason, it makes sense that they would engender similar withdrawal symptoms, particularly in those with high cumulative drug exposure," explained Nirenberg, associate ... Read more
Related support groups: Parkinson's Disease, Mirapex, Requip, Sinemet, Azilect, Ropinirole, Bromocriptine, Emsam, Selegiline, Levodopa, Carbidopa, Parlodel, Pramipexole, Amantadine, Stalevo
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Parkinson's Disease, Fatigue, Influenza, Extrapyramidal Reaction, Post-Polio Syndrome, Influenza Prophylaxis, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Sexual Dysfunction, SSRI Induced, Head Injury, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)