Health Diaries > Health News > Neurological Disease News > March 2006
March 20, 2006
Dopamine Agonists May Lead to Compulsive Behavior
Many people with Parkinson's disease who are taking dopamine agonists such as Mirapex and Permax are finding that they have new problems: compulsive gambling, overactive sex drive, and other compulsive behaviors. Some patients are suing the drug companies "to recover the money they lost gambling, on the grounds that the companies did not do enough to warn about these risks." The drug companies say there's no scientific proof that their drugs cause comulsive behavior. However:
... a recent analysis headed by FDA scientist Ana Szarfman found a strong association between pathological gambling and dopamine agonists. The statistics from a federal adverse-events database are not conclusive, but FDA officials regularly mine the data to spot red flags. (Washington Post)
Posted by news editor at 03:24 PM
March 02, 2006
Acupuncture for Migraines
Acupuncture, one of the most popular complementary treatments, works as well as standard drugs for migraines, German researchers said on Thursday. (MSNBC)
Posted by news editor at 08:52 AM