A drug used to fight chronic myeloid leukaemia might also relieve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a new study finds.
In phase 2 clinical trial, researchers found that the drug nilotinib (brand name: Tasigna) increased the production of dopamine and halted a decline in motor function. It was well-tolerated by most participants.
“We found that nilotinib is reasonably safe using doses 25 per cent to 50 per cent lower than the cancer dose,” said lead researcher Dr Charbel Moussa, an associate professor of neurology at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
“We also discovered that nilotinib increases the level of a brain chemical called dopamine that is lost or reduced in Parkinson’s disease,” he said.
Nilotinib also lowers levels of toxic proteins that lead to the slow death of dopamine neurons in the brain, Moussa said.
“After one year of treatment, the nilotinib group was stable and did not decline on both motor and non-motor clinical scales,” he said.
Patients in the trial continued to take their regular medication, which may have affected how well nilotinib worked, Moussa said. It now needs to be studied independently for at least a year, he added.
“These data are a green light to study nilotinib in a larger phase 3 trial to finally validate its clinical effects,” Moussa said.
Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that leads to shaking, stiffness and difficulty with walking, balance and coordination.
It occurs when nerve cells in a brain area that controls movement die. When they die, less dopamine is made, which causes Parkinson’s symptoms.
