14 DAY TRIAL // In a series of experiments, a team of researchers at Georgetown University discovered that Tasigna (nilotinib), a drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and used to treat leukemia, can also benefit Parkinson’s patients.
Thus, the scientists say that, when they administered the drug to a group of people diagnosed with this neurodegenerative disease, they documented an improvement in their cognitive abilities and even their motor skills.
The study participants, about a dozen of them, were offered the drug for six consecutive months. After this, when questioned about their symptoms, the majority reported a significant improvement in their condition.
Interestingly, the same drug was shown to improve Lewy body dementia symptoms. Like other neurodegenerative disorders, this condition causes a progressive decline in mental abilities, specialists explain.
“To my knowledge, this study represents the first time a therapy appears to reverse - to a greater or lesser degree depending on the stage of disease - cognitive and motor decline in patients with these neurodegenerative disorders,” said researcher Fernando Pagan in an interview.
There is evidence that the Parkinson’s and the Lewy body dementia patients included in this study started feeling better after having been administered the leukemia drug because the concoction worked to reduce levels of toxic proteins linked to these diseases in their body.
However, seeing how the investigation only included a handful of people, the Georgetown University don't yet feel ready to recommend that medical experts try and treat neurodegenerative conditions with Tasigna (nilotinib). Rather, they say further experiments and trials are needed.
