 Treatments 
 
 Parkinson's Drugs Can Be A Gateway To Sin 
 
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 Drugs that are commonly prescribed to help people cope with Parkinson's disease have been linked to bizarre changes in behavior that patients and doctors should be on guard against, researchers say. In a commentary accompanying the latest findings, two Johns Hopkins doctors wrote that nausea, dizziness and other physical side effects are more typical parts of the conversations between doctors and patients about drugs. In the study, the researchers examined 1,580 reports of people in the United States and 21 other countries experiencing pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive shopping or other abnormal behaviors after taking medication between 2003 and 2012. Objectives To analyze serious adverse drug event reports about these impulse control disorders received by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to assess the relationship of these case reports with the 6 FDA-approved dopamine receptor agonist drugs. Of all the cases of abnormal behavior that were observed in the people taking the drugs for Parkinson's disease, the majority (410 cases) occurred in those who had been taking a dopamine receptor agonist drug called pramipexole, which affects a receptor called dopamine D3 receptor. And the drug that was second-most commonly linked to such behaviors was ropinirole, which also has a significant effect on the D3 receptor, according to the study, published today (Oct. 20) in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine 
 
 The researchers noted that in some cases, the people taking these drugs had restless leg syndrome (not Parkinson's disease). "During an office visit, a patient is unlikely to spontaneously mention, 'By the way, doctor, I lost $250,000 in casinos last year, and I purchase $500 of lottery tickets every week' or 'I spend all night on Internet pornography sites and am soliciting prostitutes,'" Weiss and Pontone noted. "In summary, physicians have overestimated the benefit and underestimated the risks associated with the use of dopamine receptor agonist drugs in patients with Parkinson disease," they wrote.
– Parkinson's drugs are known for a range of side effects, including hallucinations, psychosis, and extreme drowsiness. But researchers say there's also a clear link between the use of some of these drugs and impulse control issues that result in hypersexuality, compulsive gambling, and uncontrollable spending, reports LiveScience. Looking at 1,580 reports of people in 22 countries, including the US, who'd experienced these abnormal behaviors after taking meds between 2003 and 2012, they identified 710 cases that involve dopamine receptor agonists, drugs often used to treat Parkinson's disease. (The other 870 cases accounted for all other types of drugs combined.) "Physicians have overestimated the benefit and underestimated the risks associated with the use of dopamine receptor agonist drugs in patients with [Parkinson's] disease," the researchers write in JAMA Internal Medicine. One of the writers says three of his patients have lost their homes because they went bankrupt after taking the drugs, reports NPR. The link was strongest for pramipexole (brand name Mirapex) and ropinirole (Requip). Because people taking this type of drug were 277 times more likely to report these impulsive behaviors than those taking other drugs, the researchers are calling for black-box warnings—reserved for the most extreme cautions—detailing the risks involved. (One woman has even reported her Parkinson's meds give her three to five unwanted orgasms daily.)