French guy says Parkinson’s drug induced gambling and gay sex addiction, tries to sue GSK for $610,000

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDFeb 1 2011

GlaxoSmithKline is being sued this week by a French father-of-two, alleging the British pharmaceutical firm’s drug – Reqip (Ropirnirole) to treat Parkinson’s disease turned him into a gay sex and gambling addict. Parkinson’s disease is a seriously and progressively debilitating disease that leads to tremors, slowing of movements and ultimately total immobility.

According to the 51 year old Didier Jambart’s lawyers, his behaviour changed radically after he was first administered the drug in 2003 for Parkinson’s disease. Jambart is a married man who alleges that he has attempted suicide three times and has become addicted to Internet gambling. The gambling addiction made him lose the family savings and had him stealing to feed the addiction. He also became a compulsive gay sex addict and began exposing himself on the Internet and cross-dressing. His risky sexual encounters led to him being raped, his lawyers said. His behaviour changed when he stopped taking the drug - Requip in 2005. But by then he had been demoted in his Defence ministry job and was suffering from psychological trauma resulting from his addictions, his lawyers said.

Jambart is claiming a total of 450,000 Euros ($610,000) in damages from Glaxo for allegedly selling a “defective drug” and from his neurologist for having failed to properly inform him about the drug. Requip is known to carry these bizarre side effects but a warning only appeared on its package insert in 2006. Requip’s warning label now says that some of its users “developed gambling problems or other intense urges or behaviours that were compulsive or unusual for them, such as increased sexual urges or behaviours.”

Glaxo said it did not wish to comment on the case.

According to the label warnings, the National Institutes of Health lists these precautions for the drug Requip;

“Tell your doctor if you have ever had an urge to gamble that was difficult to control and if you have or have ever had unexpected daytime sleepiness or a sleep disorder other than restless legs syndrome; high or low blood pressure; a psychotic disorder (mental illness that causes abnormal thinking or perceptions); or heart, liver, or kidney disease.”

“You should know that some people who took medications such as ropinirole developed gambling problems or other intense urges or behaviours that were compulsive or unusual for them, such as increased sexual urges or behaviours. There is not enough information to tell whether the people developed these problems because they took the medication or for other reasons. Call your doctor if you have an urge to gamble that is difficult to control, you have intense urges, or you are unable to control your behaviour.”