Why are there new concerns about Permax?
In January 2007, two new studies revealed that two Parkinson’s disease drugs cause the same kind of heart damage that led to the withdrawal of the diet drug combination fen-phen. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Doctors are advised not to prescribe Permax on a long term basis without explaining the potentially deadly heart valve side effects and to consider generic Parkinsons drugs that have shown not to be as dangerous as Permax. Permax came under new scrutiny in December 2002 when Mayo Clinic doctors suspected it could cause serious heart damage. Only a few cases have been discovered in which patients may have been injured by Permax. But the damage was potentially life-threatening, and Mayo doctors urged in-depth study of the possible effects of Permax. In two of the cases, patients required heart-valve surgery, suggesting a link between Permax and valve replacement. The Mayo report also recommended that people taking Permax for Parkinsons disease under
