Odd Compulsions Result from Drugs

Medications for Parkinson’s disease can be helpful, but they may have some peculiar side effects. Researchers studied more than 3,000 patients taking either Mirapex or Requip for Parkinson’s. Nearly 14 percent of the subjects had difficulties with impulse control. In particular, people developed compulsive urges to gamble or shop. Some people binged on food, while others acted out sexually in a compulsive fashion. About 4 percent of the patients studied had more than one problem behavior.
The investigators point out that dopamine, the brain chemical affected by these drugs, is involved in impulse control and suggested that doctors who prescribe these medicines for conditions such as restless leg syndrome should keep these potential side effects in mind and warn patients accordingly. It can come as a shock to family and friends when a patient suddenly starts to behave in an unacceptable manner because of a medication.
[Archives of Neurology, May, 2010]