MDNews - Minnesota

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM A SMALLSCALE STUDY BY GEORGE TOWN UNIVERSIT Y MEDICAL CENTER GUMC RESE ARCHERS INDICATE THAT A MEDICATION APPROVED TO TRE AT LEUKEMIA MAY HALT OR RE VERSE THE PROGRESS OF PARKINSON'S DISE A SE AND LE W Y BODY DEMENTIA. BY VALERIE LAUER THE S T UDY, W HICH examined the e cacy of the chemo- therapy medication nilotinib, was the work of the Director of Georgetown's Laboratory of Dementia and Parkinsonism, Charbel Moussa, MD, PhD, and Fernando Pagan, MD, Director of the Movement Disorders Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. "Treating people with neurodegenerative diseases and limited access to drugs or treatments made me feel the need to pursue more translational and lab work — to basically identify new drugs or new compounds that would potentially halt or reverse the neurodegenerative nature of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases," Dr. Moussa said in an interview for GUMC's news outlet. "Our work has been focused on repositioning this already-FDA-approved drug, that we now have a good safety profi le to use, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases — to stop or halt cell death in the brain and reverse the progression of the disease." SMALL BUT PROMISING During preliminary experiments, Dr. Moussa and his team found that exposing brain cells in a petri dish to nilotinib e‰ ectively cleared cellular accumulations of Lewy bodies — protein deposits thought to be responsible for the disruption of normal cell function and dopamine production, and thus for the declining function of those with Parkinson's disease. Two years after this discovery, the phase 1 GUMC study began. The study enrolled 12 participants, 11 of whom completed the trial. Each received either 150mg or 300mg of nilotinib daily, signifi cantly lower doses than those prescribed for the treatment of leukemia — up to 800mg. Yields Hope for Reversing Effects of Parkinson's DRUG REPURPOSING 06 contents ON THE COVER /////// MARCH 2016 09 10 FE ATURES SHARED DECISION MAKING FOR PATIENT-CENTERED CARE 09 Empowering patients to actively participate in their treatment plans improves the delivery of hea lth care and can protect physicians against medica l ma lpractice claims. FINANCIAL HOUSEKEEPING: WHEN AND HOW TO DUST OFF YOUR ESTATE PLAN 10 Having a sound investment strateg y and life insurance and estate plans in place are critica l elements for keeping your financia l house in order. DEPARTMENTS ACCOUNTING 12 DIAGNOSTICS 13 CME EVENTS 14 SPECIAL CLINICAL SECTION: GERIATRICS DRUG REPURPOSING YIELDS HOPE FOR REVERSING EFFECTS OF PARKINSON'S 06 A ll the subjects in a sma ll study that used a leukemia medication to treat Parkinson's disease and Lew y body dementia gained improved cognitive function and motor skills. Questions about the long-term e‰ectiveness and safety of the treatment linger, but researchers are encouraged by the findings. DATA VAULT 08 A roundup of statistics about geriatrics

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