Pramipexole: a nonergot dopamine agonist as drug therapy in Parkinson's disease.

Pramipexole is a dopamine agonist that was recently introduced for the treatment of both early and advanced Parkinson's disease. Pramipexole is a synthetic aminobenzothiazole compound with a high affinity to D(3) receptors. It directly stimulates dopamine receptors without requiring metabolic conversion. Pramipexole is rapidly absorbed with bioavailability greater than 90% and is actively secreted by the renal tubules. The drug's plasma half-life is 8-12 h. Shown to be safe and effective as add-on therapy, pramipexole can also be used as initial dopaminergic therapy in Parkinson's disease, delaying the introduction of levodopa thereby postponing levodopa's side-effects.