A multicentre retrospective study of the clinical use of ropinirole in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: the ROPI-PARK study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the use of the non-ergot dopamine agonist ropinirole (RPN) in patients with Parkinson's disease in Spain, and to examine its effectiveness and tolerability in both monotherapy and combination therapy.


METHODS
Fifty-two investigators participated in this study. Patients receiving RPN under usual clinical care conditions in Spanish Neurology outpatient clinic settings were identified (n=643) out of these, a random sample of 423 clinical records of patients treated with RPN in the previous 18 months was selected. The endpoints analyzed were: percentage of patients remaining on treatment during the period of study (maintenance), reported adverse reactions and treatment withdrawal (tolerability), changes in symptoms' severity as assessed by the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) scale (effectiveness), and start-to-end mean RPN dose.


RESULTS
Patients were 68.6+/-9.7 years old (mean+/-SD) and 57.6% were male. RPN was administered as monotherapy (24%) or add-on treatment (76%). The mean maintenance dose was 9.54+/-5.34mg/day. Adverse reactions were reported by 28.6% patients, the most frequent being somnolence and sedation (9.2%), gastrointestinal symptoms (6.9%), increase in dyskinesia (5.9%), and orthostatic symptoms (3.8%). Treatment was withdrawn in 14.4% of patients, because of adverse reactions (5.9%), lack of efficacy (2.1%), change in treatment or clinical trial inclusion (1.9%) or other reasons (4.5%). Neurologists considered that improvement was achieved in 81.5% of patients, according to CGI-I scale.


CONCLUSIONS
The low incidence of adverse reactions and low rate of treatment withdrawal observed in this study support the effectiveness and tolerability of RPN in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Valldeoriola
F
F
Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Institut de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain. fvallde@clinic.ub.es
Cobaleda
S
S
Lahuerta
J
J
D000368:Aged; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D007211:Indoles; C046649:ropinirole