Japan Ips Team: Parkinson's Drug May Slow Alzheimer's
Japanese iPS researchers say a clinical test shows a drug used to treat Parkinson's may slow progress of a type of Alzheimer's disease.
They identified the drug earlier as a possible candidate for treating Alzheimer's by using iPS cells developed from patients with the disease.
The research team led by Professor Inoue Haruhisa at Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application posted the results online Thursday.
Using iPS cells developed from cells of patients, the team previously found Bromocriptine reduced a protein in the brain believed to cause Alzheimer's disease. The drug is used for treating Parkinson's disease.
Since 2020, the researchers have been testing patients who have a family history of Alzheimer's caused by genetic factors.
They said that about five months after patients took Bromocriptine, only one in five showed a decrease in cognitive functions. By contrast, a decrease was seen in two in three patients who got a placebo.
The researchers acknowledged that they need to do further tests because their number of test subjects was limited.
Inoue said he was pleased that the tests opened the door to the possibility of using an existing drug to fight Alzheimer's.
He said the team will conduct more studies with the hope of putting the drug into practical application against the disease.