Dear Friends, the following may be of interest. Best, Kathrynne

Potential Parkinson’s drug relieves symptoms with few side effects
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-04/uorm-ppd040904.php

An international team of Parkinson's disease researchers has shown that
a potential new drug is effective at treating patients in the early
stages of Parkinson's and may even slow the progression of the disease.
The results from the Parkinson Study Group are in the April 19 issue of
the Archives of Neurology.

The effects of the compound rasagiline were measured in a study of 371
patients with early Parkinson's disease. Using a common method to
measure the effects of the disease, researchers with the Parkinson Study
Group showed that the drug helps treat many of the symptoms of the
disease, allowing people to better carry out such everyday tasks like
cutting food, writing, and dressing oneself.

While the improvement in symptoms was in line with that offered by other
medications on the market, the drug generally caused fewer side effects
than many Parkinson's drugs, researchers say, including less sleepiness
and nausea and fewer hallucinations.

In this study the researchers also sought to separate out the short-term
and long-term effects of the medication. While physicians can assess the
impact of a medication on a patient's symptoms, it's difficult to know
whether it is actually slowing the progression of Parkinson's disease,
says neurologist Ira Shoulson, M.D., of the University of Rochester, the
principal investigator of the study.

"With cancer, for instance, you can look at a tumor and watch what
happens – if the tumor shrinks, you know the medication is having an
effect on the cause of the patient's symptoms. But we don't have such
clear biomarkers for Parkinson's disease, though we're working to
develop them."

So the investigators created a unique type of study to address the
question. Some people in the "delayed-start study" received the
medication for the entire year of the study, while others received it
only for the last six months. The investigators found that the people
who received rasagaline for only the last six months improved compared
with their own performance in first 6 months, but they never reached the
level of improvement attained by the people who received rasagiline
continuously for the entire 12 months. The result could be a sign that
the medication actually helps to protect the brain cells targeted by the
disease.

"Very frequently drugs will reduce symptoms of Parkinson's disease in
the short term, but it's also possible that they have long-term
consequences such as possibly slowing the rate of progression of the
disease," says Andrew Siderowf, M.D., the corresponding author and
assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania.
"This study helps disentangle the short-term and long-term consequences
of therapy and tease out whether an effect on the underlying disease
process could be present."

Other scientists have shown in the laboratory that rasagaline appears to
protect nerve cells affected by Parkinson's disease from apoptosis, or
programmed cell death.

"The innovative design of the study suggests that the medication may
modify the course of the disease. But this is just a first hint of this
clinically – more studies need to be done to see if rasagaline truly
modifies the course of Parkinson's disease," adds Shoulson.

###

The study was done at 32 sites of the Parkinson Study Group in the
United States and Canada. The PSG is an independent group of
investigators at academic institutions around the world led by
physicians at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The group is
committed to improving treatment for persons affected by Parkinson's
disease, which affects an estimated 1 million people in North America.
Hallmarks of the neurodegenerative disease include tremors, rigidity,
and stiff or slow movement.

The study was funded by the maker of rasagaline, Teva Pharmaceuticals,
which has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval
of the drug.

The sites for the study include:
Alabama (Birmingham): University of Alabama at Birmingham
Arizona (Scottsdale): Mayo Clinic Scottsdale
California (Los Angeles): University of Southern California
California (San Francisco): University of California San Francisco
California (Sunnyvale): The Parkinson's Institute Canada (Edmonton):
University of Alberta
Canada (Ottawa): Ottawa Hospital Civic Site
Canada (Saskatoon): Saskatoon District Health Board Royal Univ. Hospital.
Canada (Toronto): Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network
Connecticut (New Haven): Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders
Florida (Tampa): University of South Florida
Georgia (Augusta): Medical College of Georgia
Illinois (Chicago): Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
Illinois (Chicago): University of Chicago
Indiana (Indianapolis): Indiana University School of Medicine
Kansas (Kansas City): University of Kansas Medical Center
Massachusetts (Boston): Boston University
Michigan (Southfield): Clinical Neuroscience Center
Minnesota (Minneapolis): University of Minnesota/Minnesota VA Medical Center
Nebraska (Omaha): Creighton University
New Jersey (New Brunswick): University of Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey
New York (Albany): Albany Medical College
New York (Manhasset): North Shore University Hospital
New York (New York City): Long Island Jewish Medical Center
New York (Rochester): University of Rochester
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia): University of Pennsylvania
Texas (Houston): Baylor College of Medicine




--
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD < [log in to unmask] >
"Ask the Parkinson Dietitian"  http://www.parkinson.org/
"Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease"
"Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy"
http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/

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