Low-dose bromocriptine in the early phases of Parkinson's disease.

The effect of bromocriptine at doses up to 20 mg/day was studied in a single-blind format with a placebo phase in 15 Parkinson's disease patients with mild-to-moderate disability who had not been previously treated with levodopa. For the 11 patients who completed the 9 month trial, both Northwestern University Disability Scale and Columbia University Rating Scale scores were significantly reduced during bromocriptine therapy, when compared with either baseline or placebo scores. Two patients improved greater than 50% and had no side effects. Transient side effects appeared in four patients. Bromocriptine at doses of 20 mg/day or below may yield effective symptomatic improvement in de novo parkinsonism and may be considered as the initial treatment in young parkinsonian patients with only mild-to-moderate disability.