FDA Reports on Dopamine Agonists Bolster Data on Impulse-Control Disorders

Such disorders constitute a much larger proportion of adverse events in patients taking dopamine agonists than in people taking other medications.

Impulse-control disorders, including behaviors such as compulsive gambling, compulsive shopping, pathological eating, and hypersexuality, have been reported in association with the use of dopamine agonist drugs. Drugs in this medication class are most often used to treat Parkinson disease, restless leg syndrome, and hyperprolactinemia. Now, researchers have retrospectively assessed the evidence linking dopamine agonists with impulse-control disorders in data from 2.7 million serious domestic and foreign adverse drug events reported to the U.S. FDA between 2003 and 2012. The Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities was used to define impulse-control behaviors.

There were 710 impulse-control disorder events in recipients of dopamine recept…

Reviewing Author

Michael S. Okun, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America

Speaker’s BureauMedscape/WebMD CME, Movement Disorders Society CME, American Academy of Neurology CME

RoyaltiesBooks4Patients; Demos; Cambridge; Taylor and Francis; Robert Rose; Public Affairs

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; Parkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America; University of Florida Foundation

Editorial BoardsTremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements; JAMA Neurology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesParkinson’s Foundation (Medical Advisor)