Adenosine Receptor Antagonists: New Class Of Antiparkinsonian Drugs
WESTPORT, Apr 21 (Reuters) - Drugs that modulate a major type of
adenosine receptor may become an important new class of antiparkinsonian
agents.
In the April issue of Annals of Neurology, Dr. Peter Jenner of King's
College London, in the UK, with colleagues there and in Japan, reports
on Parkinsonian monkeys treated with oral doses of the novel adenosine
A-2A receptor antagonist KW-6002.
Treatment with KW-6002 reversed motor disability in the animals in a
dose-dependent manner, according to the researchers. The
antiparkinsonian effects of the drug were maintained during and after 21
days of daily administration, with no tolerance of the sort observed
with antiparkinsonian dopamine agonists.
In addition, the authors report, KW-6002 "...only modestly increased
overall locomotor activity...did not cause abnormal movement
[and]....induced little or no dyskinesia in...primates previously primed
to exhibit dyskinesia by prior exposure to L-dopa."
"This study is the first to show that adenosine A-2A receptor
antagonists exhibit antiparkinsonian activity without promoting
dyskinesia in [parkinsonian] primates," the investigators write. They
add that if clinical studies confirm their findings, these agents
"...may provide a novel nondopaminergic approach to the treatment of
[Parkinson's disease]."
Ann Neurol 1998;43:507-513
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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