Dopamine agonists in early therapy for Parkinson disease: promise and problems.

PARKINSON'S disease treatment; DRUG side effects; DOPAMINE receptors; MOVEMENT disorders; DOPA; DRUG therapy for Parkinson's disease; DOPAMINE agonists; ANTIPARKINSONIAN agents; THERAPEUTICS; THIAZOLES

Editorial. Discusses treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Benefits and adverse effects of drugs such as levodopa; Reference to a study in this issue by the Parkinson Study Group using pramipexole in the initial therapy; Support for the hypothesis that initial treatment of PD with a dopamine-receptor agonist reduces the risk of dyskinesias; Questions that should be considered in addressing tradeoff of benefits and risks associated with chemotherapy.