The Effect of Pramipexole on Depressive Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease.

Depression is a common occurrence in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).Pramipexole is a dopamine agonist that has been used to treat both motor andnon-motor symptoms associated with PD. We conducted a study to elucidate the effectof pramipexole on each of the depressive symptoms as assessed by the Zung Self-RatingDepression Scale (SDS). Twenty patients with PD were treated with pramipexole1.5-3.0 mg daily for 2-3 months. The SDS and the Unified Parkinson Disease RatingScore (UPDRS) were measured in each subject before and after the treatment. Both theSDS and the UPDRS decreased significantly after treatment with pramipexole.Individual assessment of each item in the SDS indicated that 'crying spell','confusion', 'psychomotor retardation', 'emptiness', and 'dissatisfaction' symptomsimproved significantly following treatment, while 'depressed affect', 'decreasedlibido', 'constipation', and 'indecisiveness' symptoms were worse after the treatment.As the symptom of 'indecisiveness' did not respond to treatment, it might be anessential symptom in patients with PD