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Suffered from Requip Side Effects?

Requip (Generic: Ropininole HCI) is a popular medication used to control tremors associated Parkinson’s Disease and Restless Leg Syndrome.  Recent reports have linked Requip and similar drugs such as Mirapex with gambling addiction and other unhealthy compulsive behaviors. If you or a loved one has used Requip and suffered from compulsive behavior, please contact Parker & Waichman, LLP for a free lawsuit case evaluation.

About Requip
Requip is a dopamine agonist (same class of drugs as Mirapex) and works by mimicking the effects of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine helps people control their movements and increases feelings of happiness and satisfaction. Because Parkinson's Disease occurs due to a lack of dopamine in certain areas of the brain, Requip can help ease some of the symptoms associated with Parkinson’s. Requip’s link to compulsive behavior is thought to result from the rush that dopamine can give in anticipation of a reward or excitement, such as gambling. Requip is currently one of the most prescribed drugs in the dopamine agonist class of drugs.

2003 Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center Report
The Mayo Clinic study followed a 2003 report in the journal Neurology which also linked dopamine agonist  drugs to gambling addictions. Researchers at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona monitored 1,800 Parkinson's patients over a one year period and determined that of the 529 patients in the study who took Mirapex, eight developed gambling addictions. For most patients, the gambling behavior improved after they stopped taking Mirapex.

2005 Mayo Clinic Report
In a July 2005 report published in the Archives of Neurology, Mayo Clinic researchers documented behavior that supported earlier observations linking dopamine agonist drugs with gambling addiction and compulsive behaviors. The report detailed 11 Parkinson's patients who developed gambling problems while taking Mirapex or similar drugs between 2002 and 2004. Doctors have since identified 14 additional Mayo Clinic patients with the problem.

Safer Alternatives
Levodopa, a popular Parkinson's drug which is not a dopamine agonist, was not linked to any compulsive behaviors. Levodopa works by prompting the brain to naturally create dopamine. Levodopa is sold in the United States under the brand names Dopar and Larodopa. Although Levodopa is not linked to gambling, an estimated 30 percent of Parkinson's patients are still prescribed dopamine agonists like Mirapex.

If you or a loved one took Requip and suffered side effects, please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by a qualified drug side effects attorney.
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"Disease Mongering" Behind Blockbuster Requip Sales

May 14, 2008 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a relatively new term that has become somewhat ubiquitous following a multi-million dollar ad campaign spearheaded by drug maker GlaxoSmithKline.  Given that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved generic versions of Requip, RLS may have run its course, according to experts.In 2005, the FDA approved the first drug for RLS—a twitching condition affecting the legs—launching a new household term, a new designer disorder, and a...

Investigation: Secret Side Effects

May 21, 2006 | www.tampabaylive.com
What's more bizarre is that these drugs are used to treat many common ailments and you might be taking them. What if you couldn't stop eating, longed for sex 24/7 or couldn't wait to gamble away your life savings. Stories of strangers all over the country and each unaware they were linked by a common bond. A pill they thought would help they say ultimately drove them to self-destruction. A pill you may have in your medicine cabinet. Fifteen years ago, 59-year old Brian Hearn was diagnosed...

Second Parkinson's Drug, Requip, Blamed for Compulsive Gambling that Cost Retired Doctor $14 Million

Feb 26, 2006 | Newsinferno News Staff
Up until now, Mirapex has been the medication most often associated with the mounting medical evidence linking certain drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD) to the development of compulsive behavior, including pathological gambling.Now, however, a second drug has been thrust into the same spotlight with the filing of a $14 million lawsuit by a retired doctor who claims that Requip, a drug very similar to Mirapex, turned him into a compulsive gambler.Dr. Max Wells alleges in the...

Gambler blames Parkinson's for his addiction

Feb 24, 2006 | www.msnbc.msn.com
After gambling away $14 million, a retired physician from Austin, Texas, is making one last bet, that he'll recover his loss by suing casinos and the makers of his Parkinson's medication. Dr. Max Wells says the drug company failed to warn patients that Requip and a similar drug called Mirapex could cause compulsive gambling.  He also says Las Vegas casinos, including the Wynn, Bellagio and Harrah's, share the blame because they let him gamble, even though they knew he was on the medication...

Doctor sues drug company, casinos after losing $14 million

Feb 22, 2006 | Cox News Service
When the retired doctor from Austin suddenly began spending big money at the casinos, the casinos assigned him a "host," and gave him first-class airfare to Las Vegas, free hotel suites and meals, and shopping trips for his wife, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Austin.The casinos even gave him an Alaskan cruise, the lawsuit says.The retired doctor, Max Wells, kept coming back, the lawsuit says and kept losing money. By the fall of 2005, Wells had lost $7 million, the...

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