Permax Side Effects and Recall Information

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Permax, generically known as Pergolide, is a drug used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease symptoms, such as the tremors, restless leg syndrome, and poor muscle control associated with Parkinson’s disease. The medications are manufactured by Eli Lilly and Co., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and Par Pharmaceuticals and received FDA approval for market release in 1988. Experts estimate that 6 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson’s disease. In 2006, close to 12,000 individuals received prescriptions for Permax or Pergolide.

The common side effects of Permax include nausea, headache, back pain, abdominal pain, anemia, and constipation. Side effects targeting the nervous system have also been observed, causing nervousness, dizziness, insomnia, personality disorders, and hallucinations.

The more serious side effects linked to the use of Permax and Pergolide include:

• Primary Pulmonary Hypertension – This is a condition in which the arteries of the lungs suffer from high blood pressure. Blood vessels that carry deoxygenated blood to the lungs from the heart become narrow and harden, causing the heart to work harder to pump the blood to the lungs for re-oxygenation. This condition over-works the heart which can eventually cause heart failure.
  
  
• Cardiac Valvulopathy – This is a condition in which the valves of the heart become inflamed or become stiff. There is no medication available to reverse the condition and many sufferers require the surgical replacement of their heart valves to correct the problem.
  
  
• Leaky Heart Valves – This condition occurs when the leaflets of the heart valves do not close completely, letting the blood flow backwards across the valve. Studies have established that patients taking Permax or Pergolide are up to 7 times more likely to suffer from leaky heart valves than patients on other types of medications to control Parkinson’s disease.
  
  
• Pulmonary Fibrosis – This condition is basically the scarring of the lung. The air sacs in the lung are replaced by fibrotic tissue, causing the tissue to lose the ability to introduce oxygen into the bloodstream. This condition is irreversible and affects close to 5 million people worldwide.

The increased risk of these types of severe side effects prompted the FDA to issue a warning to the healthcare community in 2002 about these side effects. The warning was upgraded to the FDA’s strongest alert, a black-box warning, in 2006, and voluntary recalls of Permax and Pergolide were issued in March of 2007 by the manufacturers. New studies detailing the risks of severe side effects associated with the use of the medications were released in January of 2007 by Italian and German scientists, contributing to the decision that a recall was warranted. The Italian study found that close to one-fourth of the patients taking Permax developed moderate to severe heart valve damage, while the German study discovered the Permax users were five to seven times more likely to develop leaky heart valves. It has been estimated that more than 500,000 people used Permax and Pergolide before the warning about these severe side effects were first updated by the FDA in 2002.

Do I have a Permax Lawsuit?

The Defective Drug Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus exclusively on the representation of plaintiffs in Permax and Pergolide lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new Permax cases in all 50 states.

Attention Attorneys: We do not publish prior verdict/settlements. If you are an attorney and would like to refer us a case or for us to send you a profile of prior award judgments or average referral fees, please visit the attorney referral section of our website.

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