Multicenter, placebo-controlled trial of cabergoline taken once daily in the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Cabergoline is a dopaminergic agonist relatively specific for the D-2 receptor and much longer-acting than other dopamine agonists. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study of cabergoline in 188 levodopa/carbidopa-treated patients with suboptimally controlled Parkinson's disease (PD). The cabergoline patients had significantly better Activities of Daily Living (p = 0.032) and Motor Examination (p = 0.031) scores at the conclusion of the trial compared with the placebo group. The daily levodopa dose for the cabergoline patients decreased 18% compared with a 3% reduction for the placebo group (p < 0.001). The amount of time in the ''on'' state increased more in the cabergoline group (p = 0.022). The side-effect profile was similar to that seen with other dopamine agonists, and cabergoline was generally well tolerated. We conclude that cabergoline is an effective adjunct to levodopa for the treatment of PD.