[Dopamine agonists in the future--clinical trials of new medications]

In this review we focus on and summarize the effects of dopamine agonists as well as their recent and future place in Parkinson's disease (PD) therapy in view of the results of clinical trials. Currently, the research is focused mainly on agents influencing the underlying neurodegenerative process or with efficacy in slowing progression of PD. Simultaneously, there is increasing interest in providing more continuous dopaminergic stimulation as an attempt at preventing and/or reducing motor complications. Strong efforts are underway to develop therapies that provide effective parkinsonian symptoms control but without motor fluctuations and dyskinesias. There are some new drugs as well as more efficacious, safe and comfortable formulations (e.g. controlled release) or routes of administration (e.g. transdermal, subcutaneous, intranasal) of dopamine agonists under development in clinical trials. According to recently reported results of clinical trials with dopamine agonists we conclude that they are effective in both monotherapy and combination therapy of idiopathic PD, and that there is a place for dopamine agonists in modern therapy of both early and late PD.