New drug may treat and limit progression of Parkinson's disease
Symptoms of Parkinson's disease are commonly managed using a selective dopamine receptor agonists. While these drugs are useful in early-stage Parkinson's, they tend to lose efficacy in later disease stages. As important, currently marketed drugs do not appear to modify disease progression. A research team including Binghamton University psychology professor Chris Bishop and former graduate student David Lindenbach recently employed a preclinical model of Parkinson's disease to compare the effects of the dopamine agonist ropinirole to their new drug, known as D-512. Results demonstrated that D-512 was more efficacious than ropinirole in treating the symptoms of Parkinson's disease while also prolonging the time window in which the animals showed benefits. These findings followed on the heels of prior work by this collaborative group which demonstrated that D-512 may also protect again the progression of Parkinson's disease. "A major issue for Parkinson...