Doctors have warned that a common drug used for involuntary movement disorders suffered by millions could cause ‘deviant’ sexual behavior.
Patients taking the drugs, used to treat restless legs syndrome and Parkinson’s, have developed strange urges and problematic habits.
Some became addicted to flashing their nudity in public, others with cheating on their spouses or watching pornography.
In even more disturbing cases, patients ended up collecting child pornography and sexually assaulting minors.
The drugs belong to a class of medication known as dopamine agonists, which work by ‘tricking’ the brain into thinking it is receiving dopamine.
This helps treat conditions that cause involuntary movements that are linked to low dopamine, but the hormone also plays a crucial role in reward and pleasure.
The most common form in the US is ropinirole, sold under the brand name Requip and prescribed to 3million Americans every year.
Ropinirole, sold under the brand name Requip, is FDA approved to treat Parkinson’s and restless leg syndrome symptoms (stock image)
A report from drugmaker GSK dating back to 2003 linked ropinirole to ‘deviant’ sexual behavior (stock image)
The drug has been linked to addiction and troubling habits in what experts estimate is anywhere from six to 25 percent of patients on the drugs.
In one report, a 29-year-old man in Florida taking the dopamine agonist selegiline for hand cramps began cross-dressing two months after starting the medication.
In another 2008 case report, a 67-year-old man in Brazil experienced changes in his sexual behavior after increasing the dose of his Parkinson’s medication pramipexole, a dopamine agonist.
His wife reported he went from wanting sex once a week to every day and developed a sudden preference for anal sex. He also started shouting obscenities during the act.
The man told his doctors these were practices he secretly wanted when he was younger but was too ashamed to ask for.
Dr Ozan Toy, chief medical officer at PsychTMS in New Jersey, told DailyMail.com ropinirole is ‘generally a safe drug, but like all drugs, it does come with possible side effects.’
He added: ‘The reason these medications can cause this side effect are mainly due to the fact that they upregulate the neurotransmission of dopamine which is the neurotransmitter which is responsible for reward and feelings of happiness.
‘When there is too much dopamine, it can sometimes lead to addictive or compulsive behaviors like excessive gambling or sexual behaviors.’
In Australia, Terry Martin spent $150,000 on 162 different sex workers on more than 500 occasions after he started taking dopamine agonists for Parkinson’s.
He also claimed he went from being heterosexual to engaging with a transgender man and male prostitutes.
Mr Martin was later found guilty of having sex with a minor and possessing child pornography.
And Phillip Carmichael, a former headmaster in the UK, blamed ropinirole when authorities found 8,000 images and videos of child pornography stored on his computer.
He had been prescribed the drug for Parkinson’s and the autoimmune condition Graves’ disease, which his lawyers said have played a role in his behavioral issues.
BBC also reported on a woman named Claire who said she would flash her chest at any man she could find.
In 2019, watchdog Public Citizen sued the FDA and demanded black box warnings be added to six dopamine agonists, including Requip, about pathological gambling, compulsive eating and shopping, and hypersexuality.
However, the case was dismissed.
A warning over ‘impulse control/compulsive behaviors’ was added to the warning label for Requip XL, a form of ropinirole.
The drug has also been linked to compulsive gambling and shopping, even in people who have never gambled
It comes after BBC reported this week that drug firm GSK has known about the link between dopamine agonists and ‘deviant’ behaviors since 2003.
BBC uncovered a report from the company citing two cases of deviant behavior in men taking ropinirole.
In one, a 63-year-old man assaulted a seven-year-old girl after his libido increased significantly.
In its response to the report linking ropinirole to deviant behavior, GSK told BBC it shared the information with health authorities in the UK and informed updates about the prescribing information.
This now lists ‘altered or increased sexual interest’ and ‘behavior of significant concern’ as side effects.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends dopamine agonists only be used in short-term settings, such as end-of-life care.
In 1998, West Virginia high school teacher Ann Klinestiver started taking Requip to control tremors from her Parkinson’s.
Though her symptoms improved, she quickly noticed a change. Mrs Klinestiver, who had never been a gambler, was suddenly obsessed with slot machines and would spent 18 hours a day on them.
By the time she was taken off the drug in 2004, she had lost $250,000 and had separated from her husband.
Philip Stevens, 66, from the UK, became a compulsive gambler and shopper after being prescribed a medication for restless leg syndrome
The addiction seemed to disappear within a week of stopping the medication.
Last year, Philip Stevens, 66, from the UK, was awarded £70,000 (about $90,000) from his doctor after he developed a crippling gambling addiction from ropinirole.
The father-of-five had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and restless leg syndrome and was prescribed ropinirole in 2017 to control tremors.
Though he previously bet on horse races, his spokesperson said he was always ‘careful and intentional.’
But his gambling ‘spiraled out of control’ once he started the medication, causing him to wake up in the middle of the night to place bets.
Mr Stevens also started shopping ‘compulsively’ for clothes that he hid from his wife, and he also felt compelled to go on three-day fishing trips every week and became ‘obsessed’ with purchasing excessive amounts of fishing equipment.
A major report from the Mayo Clinic evaluated 11 patients with Parkinson’s disease taking dopamine agonist drugs and suggested gambling issues could occur even with low doses.
Lead study author Dr Maja-Tippman-Peikert said at the time: ‘Physicians should not only monitor Parkinson disease patients for this behavior but also screen their RLS patients who may be on much lower doses of dopamine agonists.’
