Parksinson's Disease: Could A Cancer Drug Reverse Symptoms?

Could a cancer drug help with Parkinson's symptoms?

New findings reveal that participants who received the drug nilotinib--marketed by Novaritis as Tasigna and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat leukemia--could walk more easily, as well as regain their ability to properly hold conversations.

During the study, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center tested the drug on 12 people who either had Parkinson's disease or Lewy body dementia. Trial doses ranged from 150 to 300 milligrams daily.

Eleven of the participants who completed the trial with the drug showed improvements in their symptoms.

"To my knowledge, this study represents the first time a therapy appears to reverse -- to a greater or lesser degree depending on stage of disease -- cognitive and motor decline in patients with these neurodegenerative disorders," said Dr. Fernando Pagan, an associate professor of neurology, in a news release. 

However, due to the trial's small size, no control group was used to help compare outcomes. But researchers are hopeful that future studies might prove the drug successful in treating this degenerative condition that's estimated to affect over 50,000 Americans annually.

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