- Your heart-valve may damage if you are receiving treatment for
Parkinson's Disease using drugs Permax and Dostinex, says the study
published in the current issue of New England Journal of Medicine
(NEJM).
Two drugs applied in Parkinson's disease treatment may cause heart-
valve problems, according to the research published in the current
issue of New England Journal of Medicine. The commercial names of
mentioned drugs are Permax and Dostinex, while medically they are
called pergolide and cabergoline. The drugs are used for other
diseases treatment as well. For example, Dostinex is approved in USA
only for cases of excessive hormone - prolactin in blood.

The study in United Kingdom among 114 thousands patients having
Parkinson's disease showed that people who recently obtained heart-
valve problem make a big share in pergolide and cabergoline users.
German doctors have found that those who take these drugs were five
to seven times more likely to have severe problems with valves.

Another study preformed in Milan at the Istituti Clinici di
Perfezionamento among its 155 patients found that 23% of Permax and
29% Dostinex users' valves were damaged while the same problem of
control subjects not taking these medications made only 6%. As other
researches have showed that the group of maximal risk includes the
patients who took the highest doses for longest time.

One these drugs – Permax – already has a black-box warning label.
This means that the medication affects in damaging heart valves and
doctors should pay special attention prescribing this drug. For the
first time the warning was placed on the boxes in 2003. Dostinex has
a warning as well but of a lighter nature added just last month.

Parkinson's disease results in tremors, loss of muscle control and
sometimes death. Around 1.5 million Americans and 6 million people
worldwide suffer from this disease. The problem is a lack of the
brain chemical, dopamine. The main stimulator for the body to
produce more dopamine is levodopa. Pergolide and cabergoline are
added to that drug or replace it, especially if symptoms worsen over
time.

The reason for the drugs being in favor of doctors in poorer
countries is that they are cheaper than levodopa. However, experts
say it would not be more expensive for Parkinson's drugs users to
change the medication. Though levodopa has its own negative effects
anyway they do not include heart valve damage.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International owns the property right to
Permax in USA. The company representatives insist that the drug has
not influence on heart-valve problems obtained by patients having
Parkinson's disease. However, the company is not promoting the drug
no more. The original developer Eli Lilly and Co. admitted while
adding warning to Permax in 2003 that risk was very low: 5 in 100
000 users.



1/7/07(HULIQ.com)