Requip Claim Center

Requip is a medication prescribed for patients with Parkinson’s Disease and for people suffering from restless leg syndrome (RLS). It is classed as a dopamine agonist, which means that it simulates the function of dopamine in certain areas of the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, acting as a communications device between one area of the brain and another. It is known to control the pleasure-seeking behavior in humans and as such, is linked to drug addiction and addictive behavior.

All Parkinson’s Disease patients have an abnormally low level of dopamine. Requip is meant to help control the symptoms of Parkinson’s that may be caused by the missing neurotransmitters. It has shown some effectiveness in helping with the tremors associated with Parkinson’s and with the spasmodic behavior of leg muscles associated with RLS.

Requip has also shown some significant side effects among patients for whom it has been prescribed. The more common Requip side effects include nausea, dizziness and somnolence, or excessive tiredness. For many patients these unpleasant conditions pass after they have been taking the medication for a short time. For some, they linger or are so strong that the patient will move on to another medication.

For patients with advanced Parkinson’s Disease the side effects expand to include uncontrolled sudden movements, confusion, vomiting and hallucinations. In one study twenty four percent of people with advanced Parkinson’s stop taking Requip because of side effects; however eighteen percent of the study group taking the placebo also stopped because of side effects.

There is one group of Requip side effects that has become highly controversial. The medication has been linked to increases in compulsive behavior – in medical terms, behaviors known as impulse control disorders (ICDs). Those disorders most frequently observed are excessive gambling and compulsive shopping, followed by excessive sexual activity and binge eating.

The study most often cited as indicative of compulsive behavior being a side effect of dopamine agonists was released by the Mayo Clinic in 2005. Clinic researchers documented behavior that supported earlier observations linking this type of medication with gambling addiction and compulsive behaviors. The report detailed 11 Parkinson’s patients who developed gambling problems while taking dopamine agonists between 2002 and 2004. The report also described the reduction or cessation of the behavior when patients were taken off the medication.

Requip side effects may well extend into the world of uncontrolled, pleasure seeking behavior. This is exactly the type of behavior assigned to drug addiction, which in turn has a direct connection to an overabundance of dopamine.

Only lawyers experienced in Requip cases have the necessary knowledge to evaluate and litigate these complex cases.

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has updated the package insert for its restless legs syndrome (RLS) drug Requip. According to the new insert, Requip may cause “pathological gambling” and “increased libido including hypersexuality.”

These side effects are reportedly a class-wide effect, which impact all the drugs belonging to the non-ergoline dopamine agonist class of drugs. Specifically, the insert reads:

“Impulse control symptoms, including compulsive behaviors such as pathological gambling and hypersexuality, have been reported in patients treated with dopaminergic agents.”

Another RLS drug, Mirapex (which is also used to treat Parkinson’s disease), has reported similar symptoms. The Mirapex package insert reads:

“Patients taking certain medicines to treat Parkinson’s disease or RLS, including Mirapex . . . have reported problems with gambling, compulsive eating, and increased sex drive.”

A 2005 study published in the Archives of Neurology also found that dozens of patients using Mirapex or similar drugs developed serious gambling addictions.

Hundreds of people have reportedly contacted lawyers about joining class-action lawsuits that allege Mirapex and Requip caused unusual side effects such as compulsive gambling, shopping, painting and eating.

Download Requip Package Insert