Istradfeylline...Drug May Cut Tremors Associated With Parkinson's
 

Drug May Cut Tremors Associated With Parkinson's

06.01.08, 8:00 PM ET
Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/hea...out615943.html

MONDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- A new drug may help people with Parkinson's disease combat the tics, spasms and tremors they experience when their main medications wear off, a new study suggests.

Istradfeylline works by helping nerve and brain signals bypass the damaged dopamine system in the brain that leads to Parkinson's. A study of 395 Parkinson's patients on levodopa, a popular Parkinson's drug, found those using istradefylline experienced 24 percent less "off" time, defined as when the physical symptoms appear after levodopa wears off. A group of those studied who took a placebo showed a 10 percent decrease in "off" time.

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