Pergolide: A dopamine agonist at both D₁ and D₂ receptors

Abstract

Pergolide is a potent, direct-acting dopamine agonist used in treating Parkinson's disease. It is an agonist found recently to have high affinity for D₃ receptors. The affinity of pergolide for D₁ receptors is lower than for D₂ receptors, and there have been some reports that it may not interact with D₁ receptors $\text{in vivo}$ at doses used to activate D₂ receptors. A growing body of evidence suggests that pergolide does occupy and activate D₁ receptors $\text{in vivo}$, although the relevance to therapeutic efficacy in Parkinson's disease needs further study.