Science News

Requip Found to Lower the Risk of Dyskinesias

- Feb 04 2000

Requip Found to Lower the Risk of Dyskinesias A five-year, double-blind study of Requip, one of the new generation of dopamine agonists, has found that the drug helps PWPs in the early stage of the disease and significantly reduces the risk of involuntary body movements that are often experienced with levodopa, the longtime standard for relief of Parkinson's symptoms.

Among the study patients who were using Requip, five percent experienced dyskinesias, compared with thirty-six percent among those using levodopa. The study was directed by Dr. Olivier Rascol, of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in Toulouse, France, and the findings were reported at an international conference on Parkinson's disease in Vancouver, BC, last July.

Requip's manufacturer, SmithKline Beecham, which funded the study, has announced that the medication is now available in a 4-mg tablet (in addition to the 0.25 mg., 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg, and 5 mg tablets already available).

Source Date: Feb 04 2000