ALS Responds to Modified Parkinson Drug By Kurt Ullman, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Published: November 20, 2011 Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner Action Points Explain that patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) showed signs in a small study that an investigational agent derived from the Parkinson's disease drug pramipexole might slow the loss of muscle strength and function. Note that treatment failures showed a significant dose-dependent relationship. Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, showed signs in a small dose-ranging study that an investigational agent derived from the Parkinson's disease drug pramipexole might slow the loss of muscle strength and function, researchers said.