 |
 |
I smoked from age 18 to 50 and at age 71 have no desire to resurrect this bad habit. Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ----- Original Message ----- From: "M.Schild" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 12:24 AM Subject: nicotine > Nicotine may ease Parkinson's symptoms: U.S. study > > > By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor > > WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nicotine may help ease some of the debilitating and > uncontrollable tremors and twitches caused by Parkinson's disease and its > treatment, researchers said on Wednesday. > > Monkeys given a nicotine-laced drink before drug treatment for Parkinson's > showed a 50 percent reduction in movements associated with the treatment. > They showed a 35 percent drop in the movements, known as dyskinesias, when > given the drink after treatments. > > The finding, to be published in the Annals of Neurology, suggests it may > be > possible to improve the lives of patients who have very limited options. > > "It may be the only drug that is useful for reducing dyskinesias without > making Parkinson's disease worse," Maryka Quik of the Parkinson's > Institute > and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, California, who led the study, said in a > telephone interview. > > Parkinson's disease, which affects more than 1 million patients in the > United > States, is marked by the death of brain cells that produce dopamine. > > Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or message-carrying chemical, associated > with > movement. Drugs can delay symptoms for a while but there is no good > treatment > and no cure. > > The main treatment, levodopa or L-dopa, itself causes the abnormal > involuntary > movements after a time. > > For years, researchers had noted that people who smoke and who drink > coffee > seemed to have a lower risk of Parkinson's, and some research has > suggested > that nicotine might protect brain cells and nerves in some way. > > Quik said her team's findings appear to uncover a separate effect of > nicotine. > > The researchers caused Parkinson's in rats and then in monkeys by damaging > the > area of the brain where dopamine is made. They gave them a soft drink with > nicotine before and after administering levodopa. > > "Not only is nicotine neuroprotective, it protects against L-dopa-induced > dyskinesias. The two effects are exclusive," Quik said. Nicotine did not > appear to interfere with the beneficial effects of L-dopa. > > Her team is now working with companies that make nicotine-like drugs to > work > up a trial in people. > > The key is probably chemical doorways into brain cells called nicotinic > receptors, Quik said. Drugs that work to affect these more precisely than > nicotine does might also work better and more safely in people. > > Nicotine patches are available over-the-counter for people who want to > stop > smoking but Quik did not advise that Parkinson's patients try them. > > "It is very important to work out the proper conditions and the proper > dose," > she said. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn