Two Parkinson’s drugs in us heart risk debate
Two drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease and certain hormonal conditions have been singled out by US researchers as seriously damaging heart valves in the same way fen-phen weight loss drugs did before they were removed from the market a decade ago.
The drugs – pergolide, which is branded and sold as Permax, and cabergoline, which is sold as Dostinex – cause cells to multiply in the heart valves, which in turn causes the valves to thicken so much that they can no longer open and close normally. The findings have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Of the two drugs, Permax already bears the strongest possible warning from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on its label, explaining that the medication increases the risk of heart valve problems.
Since 2003, Permax has warned doctors with this statement: “Some patients have required valve replacement, and deaths have been reported.”
Meanwhile, a toned-down warning was added to Dostinex in December as a “precaution” to prescribing physicians, according to the FDA.
The medical director for the National Parkinson Foundation, Dr Michael S. Okun, said patients taking Permax or Dostinex for Parkinson’s should be told about the new research findings and given a chance to switch to other drugs. He added that patients who were just starting treatment should be given other drugs.
