Pramipexole – a new way forward

The European Union has granted an extension to the licence of Pharmacia's Mirapexin (pramipexole), for use in delaying the onset of early stage Parkinson's Disease (PD). The disease is often characterised by difficulty in walking, movement and coordination and most often develops after the age of 50. There is no known cure for PD and current treatments aim to substitute the brain dopamines by various means to relieve the symptoms.

Most patients will have a regime that centres on the use of levodopa, but this drug wears off or becomes inconsistent in the latter stages of use. Pramipexole is indicated when this happens to maintain the effects seen with the levodopa.

A new study showed that pramipexole is also an effective and safe treatment for early stage PD. The majority of early stage PD patients can be maintained on pramipexole without levodopa, with sustained clinical benefits, for more than three years. An initial therapy with pramipexole also reduces the risk of developing dopaminergic motor complications by 55% compared with levodopa over a two-year period.

The Parkinson Study Group's research also indicated that pramipexole protected the patient in vitro and in vivo against PD-inducing toxins. Neurologist and PD expert Anthony Schapira said: 'If additional studies can confirm that this drug can protect nerve cells, then the emphasis would shift to prescribing it as early as possible in the cause of the disease.' He said that trials in patients were encouraging, with a definitive result expected by the middle of the year.