Long-term, open-label study of once-daily ropinirole prolonged release in early Parkinson's disease

Long-term safety and efficacy of once-daily ropinirole prolonged release (PR) were evaluated in subjects with early Parkinson's disease (PD). Subjects (n = 83) who completed one of two studies were enrolled in this open-label, multicenter, extension study, and followed for up to 78 months. Ropinirole PR was titrated/continued, and adjusted as appropriate during the maintenance phase (maximum 24 mg/day). L-dopa and other non-dopamine agonist PD medications were permitted. Safety outcomes included adverse events (AEs). Efficacy outcomes included Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) II and III scores, and Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) and Improvement (CGI-I) scores. The median duration of ropinirole PR exposure was 1,069 days. Most subjects (97.6%) reported at least one AE, most commonly (≥ 30%) nausea (42.2%), dizziness (41.0%), peripheral edema (38.6%), back pain (33.7%), and headache (31.3%). Seventeen (20.5%) subjects discontinued due to an AE. UPDRS and CGI scores indicated that the clinical status of subjects was maintained throughout the treatment period. In patients with early PD, long-term treatment with once-daily ropinirole PR was not associated with any new safety concerns, and was effective in maintaining clinical status. These results support the extended use of ropinirole PR for treatment of PD.