1. Indication

2. Wonder drugs


3. Dopamine Hits


4. Big Pharma, Big Secret


5. Restless


6. Chasing Losses


16 February 2026


When Freddie's papa Bill is identified with Parkinson's, his medication gives him a new lease of life. He begins ticking things off his retiree bucket list - taking a trip, sky diving, golf.


But then that his previously practical dad has actually begun behaving abnormally.


BBC Investigations correspondent Noel Titheradge has spent more than a year speaking to individuals whose behaviour changed drastically after taking a category of prescription drugs called dopamine agonists.


These drugs improve dopamine activity in the brain - they were recommended more than 1.5 million times in the UK last year to treat Parkinson's disease and other motion conditions.


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


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