Pramipexole (Mirapex) appear to have neuroprotective and neurorestorative properties

[rhenry45]

This study (Dopamine D3 receptor agonists for protection and repair in Parkinson's disease). goes on to say that Mirapex has a neuroprotective and neurorestorative effect. From what I read on this forum Mirapex has a lot of side effects and is nearly impossible to get off of. I am amazed it has the ability to help reverse PD.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/171...

Apparently a D3 receptor agonist ( Mirapex and others such as ropinarole and7-OH-DPAT) has this restorative effect.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/168...

Even so, I am still scared to take Mirapex due to potential side effects. But, those that are on it already may be getting better then they thought.

[Hidden]

Mirapex was prescribed for my RLS prior to me going on Sinemet CR. I put on 45 lbs in less than 9 months and cannot get rid of the weight even though I eventually weaned myself off it almost 2 years ago. I went from 124 lbs to 167 lbs nd I am only 5 ft 3 ins.

An increase in Sinemet at nighttime replaced the Mirapex. So many other very nasty side effects attributed to Mirapex have been recorded here. It has ruined people's lives due to many forms if addictions.

[Pelley in reply to Hidden]

Nothing good has come from any agonist Have tried longterm.

[Sane1]

I have been a Mirapex for about 2 years. Have not had any side effects. Problems sleeping but can blame that on other things also. My doc and I are aware of what to watch for and will deal with any problems if they arise. The biggest downside for me is it is expensive.

[Robbo1]

Side effect are not good. Caused B to have compulsive behaviour with no recognition of the harm it was doing. Thank goodness he is off them now!

[park_bear]

The second study you cited did not use Pramipexole (Mirapex) at all, but 7-OH-DPAT for the D3 receptor agonist. Pramipexole is not as selective for the D3 receptor, so it does not necessarily follow that pramipexole would do the same thing - it would need to be validated.

The first paper is a review paper, available in its entirety here: sci-hub.bz/10.1016/j.coph.2.... It is 9 years old, so I went looking for something newer. I searched since 2012 using Google scholar search terms: parkinson's "dopamine agonists" neuroprotective. This is the first thing that came up - a human study, published 2014 in the Lancet, "Long-term effectiveness of dopamine agonists and monoamine oxidase B inhibitors compared with levodopa as initial treatment for Parkinson's disease" at thelancet.com/journals/lanc...

"With 3-year median follow-up, PDQ-39 mobility scores averaged 1·8 points ... better in patients randomly assigned to levodopa than those assigned to levodopa-sparing therapy [ dopamine agonists or MAO-B inhibitors] , with no increase or attrition of benefit during 7 years' observation. PDQ-39 mobility scores were 1·4 points (95% CI 0·0–2·9, p=0·05) better in patients allocated MAOBI than in those allocated dopamine agonists. EQ-5D utility scores averaged 0·03 (95% CI 0·01–0·05; p=0·0002) better with levodopa than with levodopa-sparing therapy"

So in this most recent study, using actual humans, dopamine agonists came out at the bottom of the pack. I think early on there was a lot of optimism regarding dopamine agonists that turned out to be unwarranted.

[rhenry45 in reply to park_bear]

I said the second study used 7-OH-DPAT as it is similar to Mirapex. I would rather an MAO-B inhibitor then a dopamine agonist as I think they are not worth the risk of side effects.