Two women with Parkinson's disease who developed alopecia (baldness) while being treated with the dopamine agonists pramipexole or ropinirole found that the hair loss stopped after the drugs were
discontinued and replaced with a new treatment. The study is published in the current issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that may be caused when a small group of brain cells that control body movement die. These cells, the substantia nigra, normally produce a chemical called dopamine. Loss of dopamine causes the nerve cells to fire out of control, leaving people unable to control their movements normally.

In both cases reported, the women had been started on pramipexole and subsequently switched to ropinirole as dopamine therapy. In the first case, the patient's hair loss stopped within two weeks after she switched to ropinirole. The patient noticed new hair growth one month after switching drugs. After a year of treatment on ropinirole, the alopecia has not returned.
"For some patients hair loss is unacceptable and detracts substantially from their quality of life. In one case, the patient was distraught and refused to leave her house without wearing a hat," according to the paper's author, Alessandro Di Rocco, MD, Beth Israel Medical Center-Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. "If treating physicians can help patients deal with alopecia and other cosmetic symptoms resulting from therapy, without compromising the quality of their treatment, we can do a lot toward helping them maintain a high quality of life throughout their illness," said Di Rocco.

Hope this was informative,
Maria

Anne Kristine There are several shampoo symptoms out there to combat hair loss. I use Nioxin every few shampoos which also has a conditioner and leave in follow up foam. After just a few weeks my hairdresser could see the difference. I get it at the salon but it will also available at
WalMart. 6 of the meds I take list hair loss as a side effect.
🌈TheaD

Dear Rarlene3, I began taking my C/L in 2004....yes, I suffer from hair loss. As long as I take my C/L, (50-200), every 6 hours, I have a life. Should I miss my 6 hour mark, I have an "off period". My "off periods" are so bad that I lose consciousness. I will take C/L as long as, and as often, for life, there is no other alternative for me. I can live with this just fine. ❤️AnneKristine

Thanks for the tip! I will try that as well. Have a great day!