9th May 2014 - New research

DIABETES TREATMENT FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Journal of Parkinson's Disease [2014] Mar 24 [Epub ahead of print] (I.Aviles-Olmos, J.Dickson, Z.Kefalopoulou, A.Djamshidian, J.Kahan, P.E.Fmedsci, P.Whitton, R.Wyse, T. Isaacs, A.Lees, P.Limousin, T.Foltynie)   Complete abstract

Exenatide, which is a treatment for diabetes, has been tested as a disease modifying treatment for Parkinson's Disease. Exenatide is an injected glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist medication marketed as Byett and Bydureon. It is used in the treatment of insulin resistance in patients with Type 2 diabetes. It differs in pharmacological action and chemical structure from insulin. For more information go to Exenatide

Using the MDS-UPDRS, which is a means of assessing the extent of Parkinson's Disease symptoms, people with Parkinson's Disease were assessed who had previously taken Exenatide. People with Parkinson's Disease had an advantage of 5.6 points (with a range of 2.2 to 9.0) on the assessment. They also had a better score when assessed concerning dementia. Unusually, the effect of Exenatide on Parkinson's Disease had continued beyond its use. The authors do not suggest how this diabetes drug can have effect in Parkinson's Disease.

In a previous study, when people with moderate Parkinson's Disease received subcutaneous injections of Exenatide for a year there were marginal improvements in Parkinson's Disease motor and cognitive measures. Exenatide treated patients had a mean improvement after one year on the UPDRS of 2.7 compared with a mean decline of 2.2 points in controls. Exenatide was well tolerated but weight loss was common. For more information go to the  Complete abstract  For more news go to Parkinson's Disease News.