Pramipexole for symptoms of depression in patients with Parkinsonism/ Parkinson’s disease

• Author Details:   
• Amandeep Singh
• Prithpal S Matreja ^*
• Harmeet Singh
• Ashwani K Gupta
• Jaspreet Kaur

In patients with PD, depressive symptoms are seen in more than one-third of cases for which patients are prescribed conventional antidepressant drugs - NSRIs (noradrenaline serotonin reuptake inhibitors), SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). Pramipexole is a non-ergoline derivative dopamine agonist used for the treatment of Parkinsonism/Parkinson's disease (PD) as well as for treatment moderate to severe idiopathic Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), has also been found useful and rather superior to some of these conventional anti-depressant drugs for improvement in the symptoms of depression in patients with PD. The available data from various studies suggests that pramipexole may be used as an alternative to conventional antidepressant drugs in patients with symptoms of depression in PD. This article highlights role of pramipexole in depression.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease/Parkinsonism, Pramipexole, Depression.