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The companies that manufacture and distribute pergolide (marketed as Permax and in its generic form) have agreed to withdraw this drug from the market because of the potential for heart damage. Pergolide is a dopamine agonist used in treating Parkinson's disease. Two new studies have shown that Parkinson's patients treated with pergolide experienced an increased risk of heart valve damage compared with patients who did not receive this drug. Physicians caring for patients taking pergolide should assess whether they still need dopamine agonist therapy. If so, substitute another dopamine agonist. Several of them are approved for treating Parkinson's disease that are not associated with heart valve damage. Physicians who decide that a patient no longer needs dopamine agonist treatment should gradually decrease the dose of pergolide, since stopping the drug abruptly can be dangerous. Note that pharmacies will continue to stock pergolide for a limited period of time, so that physicians and patients can discuss treatment options and change drugs. FDA is working with the manufacturers of pergolide to see whether the drug might still be made available on a limited basis for those few patients whose efforts to switch drugs are unsuccessful.