The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a voluntary withdrawal of pergolide (Permax), a dopamine agonist that's been used to treat Parkinson's disease. The drug is being removed from the market because it poses a risk of serious damage to patients' heart valves.

Two recent studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine confirmed previous findings associating pergolide with increased chance of regurgitation (blood backflow) of the mitral, tricuspid, and aortic valves of the heart. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, and heart palpitations.

Alternative therapies are available for patients with Parkinson's disease, including three other dopamine agonists that haven't been associated with valvular heart disease. Patients taking pergolide are advised to contact their health care provider to discuss these alternative treatments; they shouldn't abruptly stop taking the medication.