1. Indication

De Transcrire-Wiki
Aller à la navigation Aller à la recherche


2. Wonder drugs


3. Dopamine Hits


4. Big Pharma, Big Secret


5. Restless


6. Chasing Losses


16 February 2026


When Freddie's father Bill is diagnosed with Parkinson's, his offers him a new lease of life. He starts ticking things off his retired person bucket list - taking a trip, skydiving, golf.


But then Freddie notifications that his formerly reasonable daddy has begun behaving uncommonly.


BBC Investigations reporter Noel Titheradge has invested more than a year speaking to people whose behaviour changed radically after taking a classification of prescription drugs called dopamine agonists.


These drugs enhance dopamine activity in the brain - they were recommended more than 1.5 million times in the UK in 2015 to deal with Parkinson's illness and other movement conditions.


But they have well established negative effects - around 1 in 6 individuals who take them establish impulse control disorders, which can consist of hypersexuality, binge consuming, compulsive betting and shopping.


If these negative effects have been understood about for decades, why weren't some patients and their families correctly warned or kept track of?