By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: April 15, 2010
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and
Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner
http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AAN/19563TORONTO -- A transdermal patch delivering a dopamine agonist to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS) was safe and effective over five years, a researcher said here.
At the end of the observational study, almost all patients treated with rotigotine (Neupro) were either symptom-free or had low scores on an international rating scale for the condition, according to Diego Garcia-Borreguero, MD, PhD, of Madrid's Sleep Research Institute. ... The drug was approved by the FDA in 2007 to treat Parkinson's disease, but is not currently available in the U.S. because of manufacturing difficulties, according to the drug's maker, UCB of Smyrna, Ga. ... most other adverse events were typical of those associated with dopamine agonists, although one important reaction -- augmentation -- appears not to have been a major problem.
Augmentation -- one of the most worrisome adverse events associated with dopamine agonists -- occurs when the condition first responds but then returns with greater severity ...
AAN: Sleep Quality Improved with Rotigotine Therapy
By Ed Susman, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today
Published: April 15, 2010
Reviewed by Ari Green, MD; Assistant Professor, University of California, San Francisco.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AAN/19574TORONTO -- Treatment with the dopamine agonist rotigotine patch significantly improved sleep quality for Parkinson's disease patients, researchers said here at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting. ...Rotigotine is approved for use in the U.S, but is not currently available, pending changes in manufacturing. The drug is expected to be back on the market sometime this year. ...