New laboratory approach to treat Parkinson's
involves electric currents, has been developed by researchers, who
believe the use of this method will reduce or eliminate the need to
treat this disorder with drug therapies.
The technique holds greater importance as scientists are increasingly finding Parkinson's a disease that is affecting more and more younger people. The causes as to why are unknown but researchers are pointing to the increasing negative impact of the environment and genetic anomalies accumulation.
Scientists from the Institute of Human Brain, Russian Academy of Sciences, demonstrated that the influence of weak electric current on the brain via electrodes laid on the head skin - the so-called transcranial electric polarization (TCEP) - reduces muscle tone and partially restores patients' movements. In combination with antiparkinsonian drug intake, TCEP was found to reduce the drug's side effect.
The experimental group involved 110 patients with stages of Parkinson's disease from 1 to 4, 80 patients were included in the main group where TCEP was applied, and the remaining 30 made the reference group and received only drugs.
The patients from the main group did not give up the drugs either but in addition they received three to four sessions of electric therapy every other day. Continuous current of 2 milliampere acted for 15 minutes via cathode and anode on the head skin.
The patients' state was assessed judging by intensity of main symptoms - movement rate, muscle tone and tremor - prior to the sessions and after them.
According to physicians' observations, TCEP application resulted in reduction of redundant muscle tone, increase in movement rate and also decrease of drug's side effects.
The only thing TCEP had no influence on was tremor. Nevertheless, these are considerable results. Effectiveness of procedure influence on movements and muscle tone varied from 100 to 63.3 per cent depending on the stage of disease. The TCEP session effect remained for half a year to a year.
"Parkinson's disease is rather widespread, said the physician, about 1 per cent of people older than 60 and about 5 per cent of people older than 80 suffer from it," said Igor Zavolokov, head of neurology department, clinics of the Institute of Human Brain, Russian Academy of Sciences.
"However, recently the disease is more and more often registered with the 30-year old patients. Not long ago, a 19-year old girl was diagnosed with this disease."
Parkinson's disease is a chronic progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Its main symptoms are - voluntary movements disorder, increased muscle tone (rigidity) and trembling (tremor).
The drugs that parkinsonism patients have to take lifelong often have strong side effects and therefore do not relieve the patient's state too much. In addition, the drugs lose their effectiveness with time.
Current treatments walk the fine line between their effectiveness and severity of side effects. Drug therapy can be quickly modified. Dosages can be adjusted to try to maximise effectiveness and minimise side effects, and different medications can be used when current treatments lose effectiveness.
A number of chemicals such as carbidopa, work by slowing the conversion of levodopa to dopamine in the bloodstream so that more of it reaches the brain.
Comtan (entacapone), a so-called COMT inhibitor, has the same effect as carbidopa when taken along with levodopa. It blocks a key enzyme responsible for breaking down levodopa before it reaches the brain.
Similarly, the drug deprenyl (in generic form or marketed under the brand name Eldepryl) can enhance and prolong the levodopa response by delaying the breakdown of levodopa-formed dopamine. (Tasmar, also known as tolcapone, is another COMT inhibitor, but it is now rarely used because it can cause severe or even fatal liver toxicity.
Other drugs work differently. So-called dopamine agonists such as Parlodel (bromocriptine), Requip (ropinirole), Permax (pergolide), and Mirapex (pramipexole dihydrocholoride) work directly on the target cells of the substantia nigra in a way that imitates dopamine. Dopamine agonists are often used in combination with levodopa.
Some people with Parkinson's disease take drugs called muscarinic antagonists, which include Artane (trihexyphenidyl) and Cogentin (benztropine).
These may be particularly effective for parkinsonian tremor. Symmetrel (amantadine) is sometimes useful for tremor or for making levodopa work better, but exactly how it works is not clear. It may also dramatically reduce dyskinesia in some patients with this side effect.
