Leukemia drug Nilotinib improves cognition, motor skills in patients with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's disease: study

• comments
• 
• 

Nilotinib or Novartis's Tasigna is an FDA-approved drug for leukemia treatment which helps suppress the growth of tumor. When taken in higher doses, this drug can effectively eliminate all cancer cells. Furthermore, a new study has discovered that besides cancer, nilotinib can also remove unhealthy proteins in the brain that interferes with proper and normal functions.

Eureka Alert reports that based on the research conducted at the Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) in Washington, the researchers noted how nilotinib intake has improved the motor skills and cognitive function of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease and dementia. The drug, when taken in small amounts, has also significantly lessen the progression of biomarkers for these brain-related diseases after it has altered the make-up of the proteins linked to its development.

Dr. Charbel Moussa, the director of the Laboratory of Dementia and Parkinsonism in the University, led the study in collaboration with Dr. Fernando Pagan, an associate professor of neurology and director of the Movement Disorders Program from the MedStar GUMC Hospital. Their findings were presented at the Society of Neuroscience yearly meeting last Saturday, October 17th.

The team was able to identify this incredible nilotinib use after trying it on 12 patients suffering from Parkinson's disease with a combination of dementia symptoms known as Lewy Body dementia, Healthline writes. Dr. Moussa believes the drug can reverse the symptoms of the disease and not just slow its progression through its ability in lowering the levels of the protein alpha-Synuclein in the spinal fluid. This enabled the body to produce more dopamine, making them score better in cognitive and movement ability tests.

Dr. Moussa explains, “With the current standard of care, when you improve motor skills you worsen cognitive skills. With this drug what was seen was a very, very significant improvement in both motor and cognitive skills at the same time.”

NBC News shares that according to one of the participants, 88-year-old Mary Leigh, the trial made her perked up and become more normal than she has been for years. Her daughter, Elizabeth Leigh, tells the news channel that her mother is now able to feed herself, which is remarkable as Mary needed help in almost all of her daily living activities before she tried the drug.

The same effects are seen in 74-year-old Alan Hoffman, a retired professor at Georgia State University. He recalls, "I would fall on my face. I fell at one of the restaurants here in town (and) broke my nose." After Tasigna, Hoffman can dress himself, read a book, and has not fallen down since.

Dr. Pagan states that the study is the first time a treatment has shown capability of reversing symptoms. However, he believes a more comprehensive and bigger studies should be done before they are truly able to determine nilotinib's true impact.