A frequently sold cough juice in Europe could possibly slow dementia in patients with Parkinson’s disease, a new study.
Almost half of those who were diagnosed in Parkinson’s within 10 years and gradually the loss, confusion, hallucinations and mood changes in memory that affect the patients, families and the health system.
“Current therapies for Parkinson’s disease and dementia deal with symptoms, but do not stop the underlying disease,” said neurologist Stephen Pasternak from Western University in Canada.
A new one-year clinical study now suggests that cough medicine ambroxol-site in Europe can safely use the development of these symptoms for decades.
The small study published in the magazine, which was published Jama neurologymonitored 55 participants with Parkinson’s dementia, evaluated their memory, psychiatric symptoms and the blood marker gfap with brain damage.
One group of participants received ambroxol daily, while the other received a placebo.
The researchers found that the medication was safe, well tolerated and reached therapeutic values in the brain.
While the psychiatric symptoms in the placebo group deteriorated, but ambroxol remained stable in the income, scientists said in an explanation.
“People who received placebo showed a clinically meaningful deterioration in neuropsychiatric symptoms, while those who received ambroxol remained stable,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Those with high risk variants of a key associated with dementia showed improved cognitive performance in ambroxol, they said.
The GFAP mirrors increased in the placebo group, but remained stable with ambroxol, which indicates that cough medicine has the potential to protect the brain from Parkinson’s from faster deterioration.
“Ambroxol was sure, well tolerated and showed the goal engagement,” wrote scientists, adding that the clinical effect of the drug was “not confirmed” on the perception in the study.
Earlier studies have shown that ambroxol supports a key enzyme called Glucocerebrosidase (GCAUS), the values of which are low in Parkinson’s patients.
The researchers previously found that ambroxol could help treat the rare gaucher disease of the genetic disorder in children caused by a lack of gases.
If this enzyme does not work properly, waste can build up in brain cells, which leads to damage.
“These results indicate that ambroxol can protect the brain function, especially with genetically endangered, a promising new treatment road in which there are currently only a few,” said Dr. Pasternak.
“If a medication like ambroxol can help, it could offer real hope and improve life,” he said.
While coughing medicine in Europe is approved for the treatment of respiratory conditions, with a long -term security file, including use in high doses and during pregnancy, it is not permitted in the USA or Canada.
Scientists hope that the pharmacological data from this study could help to carry out larger clinical studies in order to test the effectiveness of ambroxol when slowing down the symptoms of dementia.