Note: This is for medical information only. Don't rely on your readings alone. consult your Doctor. A woman with Parkinson's disease took a drug commonly used for people with the condition and began experiencing unwanted, spontaneous orgasms, according to a new report of her case. The 42-year-old woman with early-onset Parkinson's disease was admitted to the hospital complaining about the orgasms. She said she had been taking the drug rasagiline for 10 days, and on the seventh day, she started experiencing hyperarousal and increased libido, according to the case report. She then experienced three to five orgasms daily, each of which lasted from five to 20 seconds. "Here we report a patient with early-onset PD [Parkinson's disease] who experienced spontaneous orgasms when taking rasagiline; these were unwelcome and occurred in the absence of hypersexual behavior," the researchers from the department of neurology at Necmettin Erbakan University in Konya, Turkey, who treated the woman, wrote in the study. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this adverse effect of rasagiline," they wrote. How a drug can cause orgasms The woman had not been taking any other medication, and she did not experience any other unusual symptoms related to the use of the drug, according to the report. She then stopped taking the medication because of the orgasms, but when she started taking it again 15 days later, the spontaneous orgasms occurred again, so she stopped for good. Typical side effects of rasagiline include flulike symptoms, joint pain, depression and gastric problems, the researchers wrote in the study. It is not clear why exactly the drug seemed to trigger this unusual reaction, the researchers wrote. However, they suspected that it had something to do with an increase in dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps regulate the feelings of pleasure, and is triggered by taking rasagiline. (In people with Parkinson's disease, the cells that normally make dopamine die over time.) There have also been reports of orgasms induced by other drugs, such as certain antidepressants, which act on the central nervous system, the researchers wrote in their report. And one previous report described a case of a spontaneous ejaculation in a man who had also been taking rasagiline, they wrote. "There are indeed other drugs that can stimulate sexual response," said Barry Komisaruk, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, who researches orgasms. Just like rasagiline, many of these drugs activate dopamine, which is also released during orgasm, Komisaruk said. rasagiline, Azilect: http://www.medicinenet.com/rasagiline/article.htm GENERIC NAME: rasagiline BRAND NAME: Azilect DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Rasagiline is an oral drug that is used for treating Parkinson's disease. It belongs to a class of drugs called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO) that also includes selegiline and tranylcypromine. Monoamine oxidase is an enzyme that breaks down serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, tyramine and similar chemicals that serve as neurotransmitters, chemicals that nerves use to communicate with one another. There are two types of monoamine oxidase enzymes, MAO-A and MAO-B. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors inhibit one or both enzymes resulting in increased levels of the chemicals normally broken down by MAO-A or MAO-B. Rasagiline inhibits MAO-B, but it is not clear whether rasagiline also inhibits MAO-A. Rasagiline's exact mechanism of action is not known; however, by inhibiting MAO-B rasagiline reduces the breakdown of dopamine resulting in increased levels of dopamine in the brain. Increased dopamine levels alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Rasagiline was approved by the FDA in May 2006. PRESCRIPTION: Yes GENERIC AVAILABLE: No PREPARATIONS: Tablets: 0.5 and 1 mg. STORAGE: Tablets should be stored at 15-30 C (59-86 F). PRESCRIBED FOR: Rasagiline is used alone or in combination with levodopa to treat signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease. DOSING: The recommended dose of rasagiline is 1 mg once daily when used alone (monotherapy). When combined with levodopa the recommended starting dose is 0.5 mg once daily. The dose may be increased to 1 mg once daily if the response is not adequate. Patients with mild liver disease should not use more than 0.5 mg daily. It should not be used by patients with moderate or severe liver disease. Tyramine rich food, beverages and supplements should be avoided while taking rasagiline. DRUG INTERACTIONS: Rasagiline is eliminated by enzymes in the liver. Ciprofloxacin (Cipro, Cipro XR, Proquin XR) inhibits the enzymes in the liver that eliminate rasagiline, thereby increasing blood levels and possibly side effects of rasagiline. Patients taking ciprofloxacin should not exceed 0.5 mg daily of rasagiline. Rasagiline should not be administered with antidepressants that increase serotonin levels. Combining rasagiline with such antidepressants may lead to excessive levels of serotonin and a fatal condition called the serotonin syndrome. Examples of antidepressants to avoid include selective serotonin uptake inhibitors (for example, fluoxetine [Prozac, Sarafem], sertraline [Zoloft]), tricyclic antidepressants (for example, amitriptyline [Elavil, Endep]), serotonin-norepinephrine uptake inhibitors (for example, venlafaxine [Effexor]) and other MAO inhibitors (for example, selegiline, tranylcypromine). Rasagiline should be discontinued at least 14 days before initiating treatment with antidepressants that increase serotonin levels. The dopamine link The importance of dopamine in human orgasms was initially recognized when researchers noticed signs of increased sexual arousal in male nursing home patients who had been taking L-DOPA, another dopamine-inducing drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, Komisaruk told Live Science. "It is also fairly well known that cocaine can mimic the effect of orgasm," through its effect on the levels of dopamine, he said. The case report will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Parkinsonism and Related Disorders. Source : https://ph.news.yahoo.com/womans-spontaneous-orgasms-triggered-parkinsons-drug-145100711.html
