Pramipexole extended release: A novel treatment option in Parkinson's disease

Pramipexole,the most commonly prescribed dopamine agonist worldwide,meanwhile serves as a reference substance for evaluation of new drugs. based on numerous clinical data and vast experiences,efficacy and safety profiles of this non-ergoline dopamine agonist are well characterized. since october 2009,an extended-release formulation of pramipexole has been available for symptomatic treatment of parkinson's disease. pramipexole administration can be cut down from three times to once a day due to the newly developed extended-release formulation. this is considerable progress in regard to minimizing pill burden and enhancing compliance. moreover,the 24h continuous drug release of the once-daily extended-release formulation results in fewer fluctuations in plasma concentrations over time compared to immediate-release pramipexole,given three times daily. the present study summarizes pharmacokinetics and all essential pharmacological and clinical characteristics of the extended-release formulation. in addition,it provides all study data,available so far,with regard to transition and de-novo administration of extended-release formulation for patients with parkinson's disease. it further compares efficacy and safety data of immediate-release pramipexole with the extended-release formulation of pramipexole. copyright © 2010 wolfram eisenreich et al.