Ropinirole is effective on motor function when used as an adjunct to levodopa in Parkinson's disease: STRONG study

We report the results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 16-week study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ropinirole, 0.75 to 15.0 mg/day, as an adjunct to levodopa. A total of 243 patients were randomly assigned into placebo or ropinirole groups. The mean (standard deviation) dose of ropinirole at endpoint was 7.12 (2.88) mg/day. The primary endpoint-the mean reduction in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) total motor score-was significantly greater for the ropinirole group than the placebo group (-9.5 vs. -4.5, P = 0.00001). The mean reduction in the UPDRS total activities of daily living (ADL) score was also significantly greater for ropinirole than for placebo (-2.7 vs. -1.0, P = 0.0002). The percentage of patients showing at least a 20% reduction in the percentage of time spent "off" was significantly greater for the ropinirole group than for the placebo group (58.7% vs. 38.6%, P = 0.030). A total of 84.3 and 65.6% of the patients experienced adverse events while receiving ropinirole or placebo, respectively. The results showed that ropinirole was more effective than placebo in improving motor function and ADL when used as an adjunct to levodopa in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.