Diabetes drug may stop Parkinson's progression

A drug used to treat type 2 diabetes may stop progression of Parkinson's disease, scientists have found for the first time.
In Parkinson's, the brain is progressively damaged and the cells that produce the hormone dopamine are lost. It leads difficulty moving and eventually memory problems.
Therapies help manage symptoms by boosting dopamine levels, but the death of the brain continues and the disease gets worse.
Existing drugs can help manage the symptoms of the disorders, but do not prevent brain cells from dying.
In a clinical trial on 62 patients, the diabetes drug exenatide halted the progression of the disease.

"There's absolutely no doubt the most important unmet need in Parkinson's is a drug to slow down disease progression, it's unarguable," said Tom Foltynie from the University College London (UCL) in the UK.

However, researchers caution that the drug needs more testing.
In the trial, half of patients were given the diabetes drug exenatide and the rest were given a placebo. All the patients stayed on their usual medication, the 'BBC News' reported.
Those on just their usual medication declined over 48 weeks of treatment. However, those given exenatide were stable.
Three months after the experimental treatment stopped, those who had been taking exenatide showed better brain health than those who did not.

This is the first clinical trial in actual patients with Parkinson's where there has been anything like this size of effect, researchers said.