 |
 |
This very medication has been contraindicated for PWP for years. It inhibits movement - my guess would be that it is probably a dopamine depleter. --------- Mary Ann www.bentwillowfarm.org Subject: Cough Medicine Fights Dyskinesias In Parkinson's > Cough Medicine Fights Dyskinesias In Parkinson's > ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2007) — A cough suppressant and a drug tested as a > schizophrenia therapy curb the involuntary movements that are disabling > side > effects of taking the Parkinson's disease medication levodopa, Portland > scientists have found. > > > Dextromethorphan, used in such cold and flu medications as Robitussin, > Sucrets, Triaminic and Vicks, suppresses dyskinesias in rats, researchers > at > Oregon Health & Science University and the Portland Veterans Affairs > Medical > Center found. Dyskinesias are the spastic or repetitive motions that > result > from taking levodopa, or L-dopa, over long periods. > The researchers also found that BMY-14802, a drug previously tested in > people > with schizophrenia and found to be safe -- although not effective in > treating > schizophrenia symptoms -- suppressed dyskinesias in rats more effectively > than dextromethorphan did, suggesting that BMY-14802 might work to block > dyskinesias in people with Parkinson's. > "These results were unexpected, but very exciting," said the study's lead > author, Melanie A. Paquette, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Department > of > Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU School of Medicine, and the PVAMC. "We have > filed a patent for the use of BMY-14802 for dyskinesias and we hope to get > funding to begin human trials very soon." > The study, titled "Differential effects of NMDA antagonists and sigma > ligands > on L-dopa-induced behavior in the hemiparkinson rat," is being presented > during a poster session today at Neuroscience 2007, the 37th annual > Society > for Neuroscience conference in San Diego. > The results also affirm the value of the rat model for dyskinesias that > Paquette's team used in the study. Previous studies by other researchers > have > shown the drug amantadine already is effective in treating dyskinesias in > both humans and rats, and dextromethorphan's effectiveness against the > condition in rats provides more data supporting the use of the model. > "Basically, these two drugs work to block dyskinesias in both humans and > rats, > and that means the rats are a good model to screen potential drug > treatments > for humans with dyskinesias," Paquette said. > But BMY-14802, which is an antagonist at sigma-1 receptor sites in the > brain, "worked much better than dextromethorphan," an antagonist at > N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. > "There's something special about BMY-14802," Paquette explained. "The > effect > on dyskinesias is really striking and I've repeated it several times, so > it's > a reliable finding. It's a very exciting result." > The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the > National > Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of > Health, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. > Adapted from materials provided by Oregon Health & Science University. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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