78
Views
19
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Drug Evaluation

Ropinirole therapy for Parkinson’s disease

, &
Pages 581-588 | Published online: 10 Jan 2014
 

Abstract

Ropinirole (Requip®, GlaxoSmithKline) is a novel nonergoline dopamine D2 agonist indicated for the treatment of early and advanced Parkinson's disease. It is mainly metabolized by the liver and its elimination half-life is approximately 5.8 h. When used as monotherapy in early Parkinson's disease, ropinirole improves signs and symptoms of the disorder. When used as an adjunct to levodopa in advanced Parkinson's disease patients with motor fluctuations, ropinirole reduces off time and allows a reduction of levodopa dose. The initial use of ropinirole in early Parkinson's disease to which levodopa is added when necessary, has been demonstrated to lead to a lower incidence of dyskinesias compared with treatment with levodopa alone. An 18F-dihydroxyphenylalanine positron emission tomography study suggested the possibility that ropinirole could slow the progression of loss of dopamine neurons compared with treatment with levodopa but this remains to be proven. Side effects of ropinirole include nausea, somnolence, edema, orthostatic hypotension, hallucinations and dyskinesia. A once-daily formulation of ropinirole is currently in development that has the potential for greater convenience, improved tolerability and greater efficacy.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.