What is "ropinirole"

n. (context medicine English) A particular dopamine agonist used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Ropinirole ( INN; trade names Requip, Repreve, Ronirol, Adartrel) is a dopamine agonist of the non- ergoline class of medications. It is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Cipla, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Sun Pharmaceutical. It is used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and restless legs syndrome (RLS). Ropinirole is one of three medications approved by the FDA to treat RLS, the other two being pramipexole (Mirapex) and gabapentin enacarbil (Horizant). The discovery of the drug's utility in RLS has been used as an example of successful drug repurposing.

Ropinirole's patent expired in May 2008, and the drug is now available in generic form.