Dopamine agonists
- Directly stimulate dopamine receptors
- Parkinson disease + restless legs
- pramipexole, ropinirole, rotigotine
- Apomorphine: rapid rescue of OFF episodes
- Nausea, orthostasis, sleep attacks
- Impulse-control disorders are distinctive
- Hallucinations/confusion limit use in older adults
Class at a glance
- Directly stimulate dopamine receptors
Members / distinctions
- Apomorphine: rapid rescue of OFF episodes
Clinical role / safety
- Parkinson disease + restless legs
- pramipexole, ropinirole, rotigotine
- Nausea, orthostasis, sleep attacks
Clinical role
- Impulse-control disorders are distinctive
- Hallucinations/confusion limit use in older adults
Pearls
- Early monotherapy works, but most need levodopa within years
- As adjuncts: smooth fluctuations and spare levodopa
- Leg edema may appear months after starting
- Taper slowly: withdrawal brings dysphoria, pain, cravings
- Generally avoid in dementia
Self-check
- Which dopamine agonist rapidly rescues OFF episodes?
Apomorphine. - What distinctive behavioral risk occurs with dopamine agonists?
Impulse-control disorders.
Drugs in this class (7)
Dopamine agonists prescription history
Animated chart of estimated U.S. prescriptions per year, Parkinson medicines (1948–2026). Dopamine agonists highlighted from 1978.
All drug classes · Open Dopamine agonists in the interactive console ↗