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Study Common asthma drug protects against Parkinson's
When people with asthma have trouble breathing, they often use an inhaler with a respiratory tract medicine. The drug salbutamol used for this purpose seems to have another important effect: it protects against Parkinson's disease.
The researchers from the University of Bergen and the internationally acclaimed Harvard University found in their study that the drug Salbutamol not only helps with asthma, but also effective in the treatment of Parkinson's. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Science".
People with asthma use an inhaler to get breathing problems under control. The drug salbutamol used as an additional effect also seems to protect against the development of Parkinson's. (Image: Africa Studio / fotolia.com) Salbutamol can reduce the probability of Parkinson's by half
When people took the highest levels of salbutamol, they were only half as likely to develop the devastating neurological disease compared to people who did not take the drug, the experts explain.
What happens in Parkinson's??
In Parkinson's disease, certain nerve cells die in the brain. This is related to the accumulation of the protein α-synuclein. Scientists have been trying for a long time to develop drugs that can accelerate the elimination of the protein or completely prevent such accumulation. The researchers tried a new approach to treatment in their current study. They were looking for a drug that could avert the production of α-synuclein.
The search for drugs for the treatment of Parkinson's
To identify the most promising compounds, the research team bred human nerve cells in a laboratory. Then, with more than 1,100 medicines, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and other molecules, doctors checked whether they are altering the production of α-synuclein.
Salbutamol is one of the most used drugs in the world
Three of the drugs that reduce the production of the protein (including salbutamol) worked by stimulating the so-called b2 adrenoreceptor. This can trigger a variety of effects, including respiratory relaxation. Salbutamol is one of the most used drugs in the world.
Scientists use a database from Norway for their study
For their investigation, the scientists needed as much data on prescription drugs with several years of follow-up. The researchers found such a database in Norway. It contained the records of all prescriptions for each of the 4.6 million people in Norway.
Even the one-time use of salbutamol protects against Parkinson's
Parkinson's disease is very rare. About 0.1 percent of people who did not use the drug developed Parkinson's disease. Only about 0.04 percent of people who used salbutamol contracted Parkinson's disease, the authors of the study explain. The researchers also considered factors such as age and education in their study. They found that if people took salbutamol at least once in their lives, they had a one-third reduced risk of developing Parkinson's.
Effect depends on the dosage
The protective effect of salbutamol depends on the dosage. When Norwegians received the highest doses of salbutamol, they were at half the risk of developing Parkinson's over the next seven years, compared to people who did not take the drug. In contrast, patients receiving the lowest doses had only a slightly reduced risk, the researchers explain.
Further research is needed
Given that some people have both Parkinson's and asthma at the same time, other factors that correlate with the use of salbutamol may reduce the likelihood of Parkinson's disease. Other possible explanations must also be considered, say the scientists. Additional research was needed to further investigate the effects of salbutamol on Parkinson's disease. (As)