Blood Pressure Med Shows Promise in Slowing Parkinson’s
Q. My 79-year-old father-in-law, who lives alone, was just diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and hit bottom emotionally. He’s worried about the disease’s progress and how quickly he might have to vacate his house. I know medical researchers are finding something miraculous virtually every day. Is there anything new on Parkinson’s? How can I help him feel more secure?
Yes, there’s hope for slowing the disease’s progression, and it comes in the form of a medication that has been approved already for the treatment of high blood pressure. Recent research on Parkinson’s has found that when dopamine-releasing neurons in the brain become stressed, they die. That causes the disease, the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the United States.
According to a Northwestern Medicine study in the journal Nature, dopamine-releasing neurons in a region of the brain called the “substantia nigra’’ lead a lifestyle that requires lots of energy, creating stress that could lead to the neurons’ premature death. The good news is preclinical research shows this stress can be controlled with a drug already approved for human use. Isradipine reduced the mitochondrial stress in dopamine-releasing neurons to the levels seen in neurons not affected by the disease.
Northwestern Medicine scientists are conducting a clinical trial to find out if Isradipine can be used safely and is tolerated by Parkinson’s patients. Isradipine is already being used to control blood pressure.
Everyone loses dopamine-releasing neurons with age, said lead author D. James Surmeier, the Nathan Smith Davis Professor and chairman of physiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“By lowering their metabolic stress level, we should be able to make dopamine-releasing neurons live longer and delay the onset of Parkinson’s disease,” he said. “For individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the hope is that this drug can slow disease progression, giving symptomatic therapies a broader window in which to work.”
Encourage your father-in-law to check with his doctor about the best way to stay healthy. Perhaps your father-in-law would feel more secure with additional help at home. Contact Home Instead Senior Care® for a free in-home consultation. A CAREGiverSM could help him with light housekeeping, errands, food preparation, transportation, and medication reminders – tasks that would enable your father-in-law to concentrate on his health.