Parkinson’s and RLS Drug Linked to Risky Impulse Behaviors

Patients report compulsive gambling and hypersexuality tied to dopamine agonist medication, with claims of inadequate warnings from doctors.

Ropinirole, a dopamine agonist used to treat Parkinson’s disease and Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), has been linked to impulsive behaviors such as gambling addiction and hypersexuality.
Patients allege they were not adequately warned about these side effects, with some reporting life-altering consequences like financial ruin and dangerous sexual behavior.
A 2003 internal report from drugmaker GSK acknowledged these risks, detailing cases of deviant sexual behavior in men taking the drug, but warnings were only added to patient information in 2007.
Studies suggest 6% to 24% of patients taking dopamine agonists experience impulse control disorders, though many patients and doctors fail to connect these behaviors to the medication.
GSK denies liability but emphasizes that the drug has undergone extensive clinical trials and includes warnings about potential side effects in its prescribing information.