title: Slowing Parkinson's disease progression: recent dopamine agonist trials.
abstract: In recent clinical trials, chronic treatment of patients with PD with pramipexole or ropinirole was associated with a slower decline of imaged striatal dopaminergic signal, compared to levodopa monotherapy. Although this could reflect slowed progression of PD, equally plausible is a pharmacologic effect on proteins that interact with the imaging radioligands. To date, there is no compelling evidence favoring dopamine agonists over levodopa; either is an appropriate choice for initial treatment of PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. eahlskog@mayo.edu
authors.forename: J Eric
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Ahlskog
mesh_terms: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D018450:Disease Progression; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D008024:Ligands; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents