ABSTRACT
The occurrence of motor fluctuations and dyskinesia after chronic levodopa therapy led to the investigation of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) (1). One strategy was the use of dopamine agonists as an adjunct to levodopa with the intention of reducing levodopa-induced motor complications by lowering the dose of levodopa (2). Dopamine agonists act directly on the dopamine receptors, eliminating the need for conversion to dopamine and subsequent difficulties with absorption and transport across the blood-brain barrier. In addition, dopamine agonists have a longer half-life than levodopa, resulting in more continuous postsynaptic dopamine receptor stimulation. In 1974, bromocriptine was the first dopamine agonist approved for the treatment of PD in the United States (3,4). This chapter will focus on the pharmacokinetics, clinical studies, and adverse effects of bromocriptine.
