Dostinex® Linked to Heart Valve Damage
A study by Italian researcher Dr. Renzo Zanettini and others at the Instituti Clinici di Perfezionamento in Milan found that roughly one-fourth of Parkinson's patients taking Dostinex had moderate to severe heart valve troubles. The study compared the echocardiogram images of the hearts of 155 patients taking various Parkinson's medications with a group of 90 control subjects. Moderate to severe valve problems were found in 29% of the Parkinson's patients using Dostinex. Moderate to severe valve problems were not found in those on other Parkinson's drugs and were present in less than 6 percent of the comparison group.
Another study by German researcher Dr. Rene Schade and others found that patients using Dostinex® drug were five to seven times more likely to have leaky heart valves than those on other Parkinson's medications. The study used records from more than 11,400 Parkinson's patients in the United Kingdom between the ages of 40 to 80 who were prescribed Parkinson's drugs between 1988 and 2005. The researchers found that the rate of newly diagnosed leaky valves was increased among Dostinex® and pergolide users but not in those using the other medications.
Dostinex® may target a specific receptor expressed in heart valves, while the other drugs in this class work in a different way. Both studies were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A warning about valve problems was added to Dostinex® in 2006 that identifies the potential problem as a ''precaution.'' The drug does not carry a black-box warning label which is the strongest warning required by the FDA. As a result, the warning is in a less obvious part of the prescribing information for doctors.
The medical director for the National Parkinson Foundation, Dr. Michael S. Okun, said people taking pergolide or Dostinex® for Parkinson's should be told about the new research and given a chance to switch to other drugs. He said that safer, equally effective drugs are available. Dr. Okun was not involved in the studies.
Another researcher who was not involved in the studies, Dr. Bryan L. Roth, was quoted in the New York Times saying that he would not recommend prescribing the drugs. Several news sources also quoted Dr. Roth as describing the risk of valve disease as "extraordinarily high." Dr. Roth wrote a commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine about the studies and has previously published a paper warning that the drugs appeared to trigger the same heart-related mechanism that was seen with the fen-phen diet combination. Fen-Phen was pulled from the market in 1997 after they were linked to valve problems.
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The Steinberg law firm does not intend, by this web site or otherwise, to dissuade anyone from using medication without their doctors' approval. Please consult your doctor, not your lawyer, on matters relating to your health. It could be dangerous to stop taking medicines, especially abruptly.
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The Steinberg Law Firm recommends that you contact experienced legal counsel as soon as possible after an injury. Involving legal counsel early can help preserve the evidence that is important to your claim and help ensure that you receive proper compensation. Please call or e-mail us for a free legal consultation if you or a loved one has taken Dostinex® and been diagnosed with heart valve disease. You will not be charged any fee for the consultation and, if we take your case, you will not be charged a fee unless we win your case.
Please E-Mail Andrew E. Steinberg* at: andrewsteinberg@lawyer.com for a free, confidential consultation. Or call us at 713-529-0025.
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