Wednesday, April 3, 2013
UCB, a pharmaceutical company, created a skin patch called Neupro that releases dopamine agonist into a person suffering from Parkinson's Disease. The patch treats Parkinson's Disease by replicating how dopamine naturally operates in the brain. In the course of Parkinson's Disease, dopamine-producing neurons in a patient die. The dopamine released by the patch supplements the dopamine function that was lost as a result of the death of the patient's neurons. Neupro attempts "to maintain as constant a level of the drug as possible throughout the course of the day." Studies that have been conducted have shown that the patch does help to reduce a patient's "off-time," which often results from when the helpful effects of a patient's medication wears off.
While Neupro was withdrawn from United States markets in 2008, it has returned to store shelves. Neupro was also approved for use in Canada and the European Union.
See Nate Herpich, Neupro Patch Approved For Use In Canada, The Michael J. Fox Foundation For Parkinson's Research, Apr. 2, 2013.