( 'Off' Time Reduced By an Average of Mor...)Once Daily, Extended-Release Ropinirole Improves Parkinson's,Symptoms in Patients not Optimally Controlled With Levodopa,Health

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 02, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- Adding the once daily, investigational medication REQUIP(R) (ropinirole HCl) XL 24-Hour(TM) Extended-Release Tablets to Parkinson's patients' existing levodopa (L-dopa) therapy significantly reduced 'off' time, allowing patients to continue their daily activities for a longer period of time. 'Off time' describes the return of Parkinson's symptoms as a patient's medication wears off. The Ropinirole 24-Hour Prolonged Release Randomized, Controlled Study in Advanced Parkinson Disease (EASE-PD Adjunct Study) results, published in the April 3 issue of Neurology, show that adjunct treatment with REQUIP XL 24-Hour significantly reduced 'off' time by an average of more than two hours per day when compared to baseline prior to treatment.

"'Off' time is a common phenomenon for Parkinson's patients. When symptoms like slowness of movement, tremor and rigidity return due to wearing off of the patient's medication, it can be problematic, causing difficulty with simple activities and movement in patients with Parkinson's disease," said Rajesh Pahwa, M.D., Professor of Neurology, Director, Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorder Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kan., and lead investigator of the EASE-PD Adjunct study. "These study results are significant, and show that with the investigational REQUIP XL 24- Hour added to L-dopa, patients can have more than two additional hours per day, on average, without experiencing the disabling symptom of 'off ' time."

REQUIP(R) (ropinirole HCl) Tablets, the immediate-release (IR) formulation, is dosed three times daily. REQUIP XL 24-Hour has been designed to be given once daily and to have a simpler and faster titration schedule. In addition, it has been designed to provide a steady rate of absorption in the body to help reduc
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