Double‐blind trial of pergolide for Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Pergolide mesylate, a dopamine agonist, was studied as adjunctive therapy in a 6-month double-blind trial in 20 patients with Parkinson's disease who were achieving less than optimal response from Sinemet. As pergolide or placebo was administered in increasing dosage, Sinemet was reduced if side effects developed. Both the pergolide and placebo groups improved significantly (p less than 0.05). The pergolide group improved 30% at the end of 24 weeks, and the placebo group 23%. There was no significant difference between drug and placebo groups, possibly due to a fortuitous support group and the side effects that may have burdened the pergolide group. Nevertheless, pergolide had a definite antiparkinsonian effect.

The use of dopamine agonists in very elderly patients with Parkinson's disease

“…However, when previous studies of BCT and PG in more advanced but younger patients with PD are compared, the rate of adverse events in our patients is comparable. [29][30][31][32][33] Weiner et al 34 reported safety and efficacy data on patients with advanced PD who were treated with PMPX. The adverse effect event rate for these younger patients (mean age, 63 yrs) with more advanced disease was similar to what we observed in our very elderly patients.…”

Apomorphine: An underutilized therapy for Parkinson's disease

“…Waking day 38 50% 0% Poewe et al 39 14 21 Diurnal 160 60% 78% Hughes et al 16 44 22 24 weeks ∼33%* 33% Jankovic et al 45 10 6 months 40% 46% Diamond et al 46 far exceeds that of trials with oral agonists or COMT inhibitors.…”

Great Expectations: The Placebo Effect in Parkinson’s Disease

“…In a double-blind trial of the dopamine agonist pergolide, significant improvement was seen in both the pergolide-treated group (30 % after 24 weeks) and the placebo group (23 % after 24 weeks) (Diamond et al 1985). Finally, a meta-review demonstrated that 12 of 36 articles reported a 9-59 % improvement in patient motor symptoms following placebo (Shetty et al 1999).…”