Patch to treat Parkinson's gets FDA green light

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has given it's approval for the first patch for Parkinson's disease.

The Rotigotine Transfermal System, also known as Neupro, is designed to treat the early symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

The patch is meant to be applied once each day and comes in three different strengths, 2mg, 4mg, and 6mg, depending on the severity of the symptoms; each patch will be effective for 24 hours.

The active ingredient in the rotigotine patch replicates the actions of dopamine which keeps motor functions working properly.

The FDA says common side effects for Neupro included skin reactions at the patch site, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and insomnia, which are common with this class of drugs.

There are 4 million people worldwide suffering from Parkinson's with 1 million alone in the U.S.

As most suffer from a lack of dopamine, this patch could remedy that deficiency.

Neupro is manufactured by Schwarz Bioscience and is the first transdermal patch approved for the treatment of symptoms of Parkinson's disease; it is already approved for use in Europe.

The FDA approval for Neupro was based on a study involving 1,154 patients who had early signs of Parkinson's and had not begun any treatment.

The disease causes muscle rigidity, stiffness and tremors.