[Pramipexol: a new dopaminergic agonist for the treatment of Parkinson disease]

Abstract

Pramipexol is a novel nonergot dopamine agonist which has high selectivity for intereacting with dopamine D2 receptors (especially with D3 receptor subtype). It has been effective in early Parkinson's disease as monotherapy and as adjunctive therapy with L-dopa in advanced stages of the disease. Clinical improvement can be observed after 3 or 4 weeks of treatment. The adverse events profile of pramipexol is similar, in general, to that of other dopamine receptor agonists, although it can be foreseen that pramipexol should not induce side effects related to the ergot chemical structure such as eritromelalgia, distal vasospasm, retroperitoneal fibrosis or pleural effusions. Nevertheless, the potential advantages of this promising dopamine agonist should be tested in well-designed prospective comparative studies with other available ergot and nonergot dopamine agonists.