Pergolide mesilate may improve fatigue in patients with Parkinson's disease

Objectives: Fatigue is a complaint frequently encountered among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Considering the possible relationship between fatigue and dopaminergic dysfuncion, we investigated the effect of pergolide mesilate (a D2 and D1 dopamine receptor agonist) and bromocriptine (a D2 selective dopamine receptor) in patients with PD. Methods: We evaluated 41 patients with PD and controls. We assessed the degree of fatigue by using a fatigue scale. The severity of PD was evaluated by the Hoehn and Yahr Scale and the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS). Results: After five weeks from prescription, patients taking pergolide mesilate showed significant improvement in the fatigue scale (from 5.1 +/- 0.7 to 4.4 +/- 0.55, p < 0.05,) but patients taking bromocriptine did not (from 4.8 +/- 0.9 to 4.7 +/- 0.8). Conclusions: Our study suggested the possibility of functional correlation between fatigue and D1 receptor in patients with PD.