Neupro (rotigotine) Patches for RLS

[Slinky]

AN: RLS Patch Safe, Effective over Long Term

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

TORONTO -- 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 ...

http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AAN/19563

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.

TORONTO -- 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. ...

http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AAN/19574

[kteague]

I am so interested in trying this. If you run across anything further about availability, please do post it. If I understand it correctly, it is in Canada they expect it to return this year? Have you read anything about the U.S.?

[Rebecca R]

Thanks for the info Slinky. I would like to try it as well. The reported side effects sound similar to Requip, but I can't help but think that the nausea may not be as severe with transdermal administration.

Kathy--I tried to search Health Canada's Drug Product Data base and couldn't find it. It looks like rotigotine isn't approved in Canada at all.

Neupro® is not approved or available in Canada for the treatment of idiopathic Parkinson's disease or for the treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome.

http://www.biovalley.ch/content.cfm?nav ... s&id=13315


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