Dopamine Receptor Agonists and Impulse-Control Disorders

Patients taking dopamine receptor agonists for restless legs syndrome show brain-activation abnormalities similar, but not identical, to those previously found in Parkinson patients with pathologic gambling.

Recent studies support the hypothesis that, in a previously burdened personality, chronic treatment with dopamine agonists may exacerbate a predisposition toward dopamine dysregulation syndrome, producing behaviors such as pathologic gambling or eating disorders (Nat Clin Pract Neurol 2007; 3:664 and Arch Neurol 2007; 64:212). Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) can have such impulse-control disorders during dopamine-agonist therapy, and some studies have shown similar problems in patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) treated with dopamine agonists.

In this study, researchers used functional MRI to study the effects of dopamine agonists in 12 female patients with RLS. The patients were scanned twice: once during treatment with dopamine…

Reviewing Author

Claudia Trenkwalder, MD