METHOTREXATE and PD

[Bridielena]

Today I found out there is a strong correlation between taking Methotrexate and PD.

I was on the drug for Rheumatoid Arthritis for a few years before being diagnosed with PD. Now it seems PD is a side effect of the drug if you had been on it 6 months or more, particularly females 60 years and over.

Just great news isn't it. As it turned out I am in the fortunate 10% whose RA didn't devastatingly increase....I don't know which is the worst but wish I had known more about this insidious drug all those years ago.

HGE

[Hikoi]

Bridelina

Where did you read this B. I found one old case study ( one person) but nothing more.

[Bridielena in reply to Hikoi]

Hikoi

It started with a News Report in Australia ,only this week , where 7 deaths were recorded against this drug. Apparently they were overdosed. ( Once a day instead of once a week....)

As I had been prescribed this drug several years ago, googled Methotrexate and Parkinson's disease........and there were numerous Sites available for information...... It was just a 'hunch' in which my curiosity got the better of me and I just had to find out.

One of them mentioned 22 deaths linked in the USA.

Dreadful to think 'I needn't be going down this PD journey.

Bridielena

[Hikoi in reply to Bridielena]

Bridielina

Yes I found the report of 8 deaths in 15 years from methotrexate overdose and also another report of 26 deaths in one state in Australia from Paracetamol overdose in just 7 years.

I couldn't find any link to it causing PD except this which is patient reported side effects so is not proven.

There were 108412 reports of side effects from Methotrexate.

41 of these reported METHOTREXATE caused PARKINSON'S DISEASE:

A Percentage: 0.0378%

While it may have had some influence on your situation now I hope you don't worry too much about this because it seems very unlikely to have caused you to get PD.

[Bridielena in reply to Hikoi]

Thanks Hikoi

I'm not worrying about something I cannot do anything about.

I still understand there's a LINK but my Neurologist and I will thrash that out for interest sake. Re the deaths from it .....as this report has only just surfaced it is very probable that many many more folk died but weren't in any statistical report. I read that somewhere too.

Love the story about the Auckland Island Pigs....bless them.

New Zealand is so pristine it may hold many more secrets.

[silvestrov]

Did the doctors have you take folate while on methotrexate? It depletes folate. And folic acid deficiency is associated with PD. A U. of Leicester study showed folic acid could suppress PD. The best form of folic acid is methyltetrahydrofolic acid...it is the bio-available form folic acid.

[Bridielena]

No

[silvestrov in reply to Bridielena]

Folic acid and folinic acid for reducing side effects in patients receiving methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS:

"The results support a protective effect of supplementation with either folic or folinic acid for patients with rheumatoid arthritis during treatment with MTX.There was a significant reduction shown in the incidence of GI side effects, hepatic dysfunction (asmeasured by elevated serum transaminase levels) as well as a significant reduction in discontinuation of MTX treatment for any reason."

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/237...

[Bridielena]

I'm confused.

Why did I read then that Meth. side effects .....PD......one of them was found in women aged from 60 who had taken it for only 3 days. Correct doseage was once a week.

Anyway someone left the gate open and the horse has bolted.

[Hikoi in reply to Bridielena]

here is the link

ehealthme.com/ds/methotrexa...

Except for the question in the title it doesn't actually say methotrexate causes PD.

Methotrexate cause Parkinson's Disease?

Parkinson's disease is found among people who take Methotrexate, especially for people who are female, 60+ old , have been taking the drug for 6 - 12 months, also take medication Folic Acid, and have Rheumatoid arthritis . We study 128,581 people who have side effects while taking Methotrexate from FDA and social media. Among them, 71 have Parkinson's disease. Find out below who they are, when they have Parkinson's disease and more.

[Bridielena]

Ta again Hikoi

I shall try to find the link where it mentioned 'on it for 3 days' . This particular link I forwarded to my Neurologist so I should be able to find it.

Regardless my PD can't be reversed.

Saw on TV last night a female with MS having some sort of brain surgery which will stop its progress.....so it was said......in Canada........sounded like DBS......they didn't go into detail but whatever it is should follow onto PD.....do you think ?

[Bridielena in reply to Bridielena]

It is DBS. TV presenter here in Australia had an episode of Epilepsy on camera a few years ago. Poor man. He then went under to have DBS. He is still on TV in front of the camera and is doing so very very well.

[Lionore]

I had a three drug chemo cocktail in 1985 and methotrexate was one component. Here it's 2017; I wonder if my PD was caused by this?

[Bridielena]

Lionore why do doctors get it so wrong. I was sick....no one could diagnose what was wrong. I was told Rheumatoid Arthritis and put on Methotrexate....daily......WHEN as I not so long ago found out, it should've been weekly....All happened at least 20 years ago.. I'm fighting this awful Parkinsons desperately. Dystonia now is my nemesis. It's horrible. I'm numb from knee to foot which distorts and wakes me about 3 every morning. Somehow get to bathroom then to a chair. Wait for daybreak to take Madopar then wait again for uptake. Not working this morning. Just legs and feet going into spasms. Yelled for my husband but he never heard me. No one knows exactly how I feel. Very depressed . Can't stop crying and just want to fall over for relief as sitting is uncomfortable too. What can anyone do to help.? Nothing ... Yes I think I can blame it all on Methotrexate. My apologies for being so unhelpful and complaining about 'poor me'. I m finding it hard now to style my hair, dress myself and socialise. To get out of the house to appointments, looking good, is becoming impossible.

HGE aka Bridielena

[unhealthyPerson]

FYI, your hunch has been proven to be true.

I read this wonderful article today.

sciencemag.org/news/2018/12...

I have also read the following article 5 months ago.

sciencemag.org/news/2018/08...

So, the drug methotrexate can affect the white matter in the brain.

Damages of the white matter in the brain can lead to Parkinson's disease.

I googled "methotrexate Parkinson's disease" and find your report!

[Bridielena in reply to unhealthyPerson]

Wonder if it can be reversed. Silly question I know