Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared with rates in the clinical trials of another drug (or of another development program of a different formulation of the same drug) and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

Parkinson's Disease

During the premarketing development of ropinirole tablets, patients received ropinirole tablets either without L-dopa (early Parkinson's disease trials) or as concomitant therapy with L-dopa (advanced Parkinson's disease trials). Because these 2 populations may have differential risks for various adverse reactions, this section will in general present adverse reaction data for these 2 populations separately.

Early Parkinson's Disease (without L-dopa): In the double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease, the most commonly observed adverse reactions in patients treated with ropinirole tablets (incidence at least 5% greater than placebo) were nausea, somnolence, dizziness, syncope, asthenic condition (i.e., asthenia, fatigue, and/or malaise), viral infection, leg edema, vomiting, and dyspepsia.

Approximately 24% of patients treated with ropinirole tablets who participated in the double-blind, placebo-controlled early Parkinson's disease (without L-dopa) trials discontinued treatment due to adverse reactions compared with 13% of patients who received placebo. The most common adverse reactions in patients treated with ropinirole tablets (incidence at least 2% greater than placebo) of sufficient severity to cause discontinuation were nausea and dizziness.

Table 3 lists treatment-emergent adverse reactions that occurred in at least 2% of patients with early Parkinson's disease (without L-dopa) treated with ropinirole tablets participating in the double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and were numerically more common than the incidence for placebo-treated patients. In these trials, either ropinirole tablets or placebo was used as early therapy (i.e., without L-dopa).

Advanced Parkinson's Disease (with L-dopa): In the double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in patients with advanced-stage Parkinson's disease, the most commonly observed adverse reactions in patients treated with ropinirole tablets (incidence at least 5% greater than placebo) were dyskinesia, somnolence, nausea, dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, increased sweating, and headache.

Approximately 24% of patients who received ropinirole tablets in the double-blind, placebo-controlled advanced Parkinson's disease (with L-dopa) trials discontinued treatment due to adverse reactions compared with 18% of patients who received placebo. The most common adverse reaction in patients treated with ropinirole tablets (incidence at least 2% greater than placebo) of sufficient severity to cause discontinuation was dizziness.

Table 4 lists treatment-emergent adverse reactions that occurred in at least 2% of patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (with L-dopa) treated with ropinirole tablets who participated in the double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and were numerically more common than the incidence for placebo-treated patients. In these trials, either ropinirole tablets or placebo was used as an adjunct to L-dopa.

Restless Legs Syndrome

In the double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in patients with RLS, the most commonly observed adverse reactions in patients treated with ropinirole tablets (incidence at least 5% greater than placebo) were nausea, vomiting, somnolence, dizziness, and asthenic condition (i.e., asthenia, fatigue, and/or malaise).

Approximately 5% of patients treated with ropinirole tablets who participated in the double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in the treatment of RLS discontinued treatment due to adverse reactions compared with 4% of patients who received placebo. The most common adverse reaction in patients treated with ropinirole tablets (incidence at least 2% greater than placebo) of sufficient severity to cause discontinuation was nausea.

Table 5 lists treatment-emergent adverse reactions that occurred in at least 2% of patients with RLS treated with ropinirole tablets participating in the 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and were numerically more common than the incidence for placebo-treated patients.