Breakthrough Pill for Parkinson’s - Daily Mail

[GratefulHeart23]

This article was in the Daily Mail 17/07/22.

Breakthrough pill for Parkinson's could treat disease early and relieve symptoms without side-effects.

dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

[docjleonard55]

Sounds really interesting. I can't wait until it's approved in the US. Sinemet is doing virtually nothing for me.

[Beanie57]

Very strange .................. without the side-effects of standard drug treatments, yet they have have combine two standard medications currently used for Parkinson's!!!!!!!! Won't hold my breath.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Beanie57]

"It involves a combination of two existing Parkinson’s medications, pramipexole and rasagiline, given at low doses in a slow-release formula.

The idea is that their complementary mechanisms work together to increase levels of dopamine in the brain — a key trigger of the disease.

The fact that low doses are used means the drugs won’t cause the unpleasant side-effects they do when used alone at much higher doses. These can include muscle spasms or weakness, nausea, dizziness and sleep problems.

In a recent trial, patients who took the new low-dose combination medication, known as P2B001, experienced the same improvements in their symptoms as seen with a standard treatment, but had significantly fewer side-effects."

[Boscoejean]

two clinical trials have been completed on this and supposedly there are results available

classic.clinicaltrials.gov/...

classic.clinicaltrials.gov/...

Conclusions: These data indicate that P2B001 offers a once daily treatment option (without the need for titration) for patients with early PD with comparable efficacy to marketed Prami-ER but with reduced sleep-related and dopaminergic side effects.

n.neurology.org/content/100....

[LAJ12345]

I think the key is low doses. Hubby does best when we give him 1/4 dose of anything the dr prescribes. I think response is u shaped with too low and too high are both bad. Just right for him is much less than for most people apparently.

[Despe in reply to LAJ12345]

Hubby's MDS told us "Less if more."

[LAJ12345 in reply to Despe]

Sounds like a good doctor. Ours just want to keep increasing it and adding new ones🙁. We which he declines

[Despe in reply to LAJ12345]

Yes, he is although he is not hubby's MDS any longer. He moved to research. I was pleasantly surprised he was on top of every plant levodopa, from fava beans to velvet beans and asked which kind hubby is using. It is then that he recommended the addition of plain carbidopa to MP. Very knowledgeable, fairly young and smart!

[WinnieThePoo in reply to Despe]

I'm sorry to hear that your husband is still suffering Despe. I hope you find a fix. I am a bit confused about "less is more"Did you try it and it failed? Or have you not been able to try it yet?

[Despe in reply to WinnieThePoo]

Thanks, Winnie. To be honest with you, the only improvement is fluid movement, no matter what the amount or combination of his meds. Yes, his MDS at Vanderbilt told us that "Less is more." Right now he is fighting left leg ulcer, wounds that were caused by an allergic reaction to antibiotics he took after his HoLEP, prostate laser surgery. A couple of sores on his lower left leg developed to wounds! He is been seen by a Wound Care doctor and a Vascular Surgeon at Vanderbilt. According to him and his tests, blood flow is normal. Healing is slow. Recent surgery and ulcer of the leg have worsened his symptoms.

[Vervaine in reply to Despe]

sorry what does this mean?

[Despe in reply to Vervaine]

What "what does this mean?" Sorry I don't understand your question.

[saraoutwest]

is it used in early stages only??

[CuriousMe12 in reply to saraoutwest]

Good question saraoutwest. They only accepted early stage pwp in the trials.By definition of their progression the trial group would likely be on a lower dosage of standard drugs anyway. So what will it really prove to test a new pill containing a low dose on this population.

A more robust test would include more advanced pwp.

Or am I missing something

[Bunny622023 in reply to saraoutwest]

That was my question as well...... CuriousMe12 answers it well. Not sure why they wouldn't test more advanced groups.

[wriga]

This is what we now call a breakthrough for Parkinson's disease. Take 2 old medications whose patents ran out years ago. Put them into a single pill at a lower dose than previously used to ensure less adverse effects.

Give the formulation a new name and take out a new patent on the formula.

Run a new clinical trial just for good measure to get FDA approval.

Repackage the new formulation and anounce it to the readers of the Daily Mail or similar popular press.

And thre we are, Big Pharma would like you know how hard they have been working to bring you a breakthrough therapy for Parkinson's disease. Don't be fooled, nothing has changed.

The only thing it will break is your bank balance. Of course, since it is a new patented formulation, for the next 20 years , it will be sold at a higher price than its constituent components. It's only a breakthrough for the manufacturer's bottom line.

[Kia17 in reply to wriga]

👍

[Despe in reply to Kia17]

Two thumbs up, my good friend! How are you?

[Kia17 in reply to Despe]

Hi Despe, nice to hear from you. I am doing well thank you, how are you?

[Despe in reply to Kia17]

Hanging in there Kia. Hubby was discharged from the hospital this evening after spending 4 days in the hospital with cellulitis on his left lower leg. He took antibiotics after his recent HoLEP procedure (prostate laser surgery) and he had a very bad allergic reaction. Rash all over his body and some little sores became wounds. . . He is doing a lot better now after high doses of IV antibiotics.

[Kia17 in reply to Despe]

I can imagine how difficult it can be dealing with hospital, especially when something goes wrong , I wish your husband a speedy recovery.

[Despe in reply to Kia17]

Thanks, Kia. After the fall last year, things are not OK.

[Kia17 in reply to Despe]

😔

[CuriousMe12 in reply to wriga]

Its the old smoke and mirrors. And they'll advertise as no dyskinesia too (small print: no dyskinesia for the early onsetters[diagnosed in last 3 years] that we tested it on anyway...).

[Despe in reply to wriga]

Good to "see you" Albert. How are you?

[wriga in reply to Despe]

Hi, Despe, I am doing well wrt Parkinson's. I have been totally free of non-motor symptoms for the last 8 months thanks to the latest developments in standardizing the sulforaphane content of Broccoli seed tea. This means we can now define the dose range for Parkinson's much more precisely. This range turns out to be quite narrow and varies from person to person. When you get the dose right, non-motor symptoms such as fatigue, urinary urgency, constipation, apathy, balance issues and brain fog are strongly attenuated in a few weeks. However, exceeding the right personal dose increases these same non-motor symptoms. This complicates its use and requires much more detailed research in a clinical setting to ensure safety and efficacy. To fund and carry out this research we are in the process of transitioning to a much larger professional organisation (NPO based in the USA) which will be announced shortly.

So, on a personal level I am overworked, but fortunate to be supported by a remarkably competent and passionate team who firmly believe in the future of this project for the benefit of People with Parkinson's.

Anyone interested in supporting this development is very welcome.

[Despe in reply to wriga]

I sure would love to support your project. Please let me know how.

I admire your perseverance and determination. Unfortunately, my husband is so apathetic, he doesn't like to get involved in his own journey which he leaves it up to me. I am overwhelmed!

[JAS9 in reply to Despe]

Hi, Despe. Sorry about his apathy and your being overwhelmed. As you probably know, the brain uses Dopamine in many ways, one of which is to give fuel to ambition and reward behavior that moves us forward. And we PWP have too little Dopamine so there you go!

I've had PD for 15 years now and I've had long periods of other medical problems that have forced me to take a greatly reduced amount of PD meds. I can tell you that I became extremely apathetic. Absolutely nothing mattered to me. Now, when my meds are working, I have about 3 hours a day during which I feel motivated and I actually do things (like writing to this forum today).

I've read your posts on this topic and I'm curious: are you reducing the amount of his PD meds (I'm guessing Sinemit) because of this "less is more" idea? If so, what would you think of trying to give him more just to see if that increases his motivation? Just a thought. I certainly don't mean to second-guess you. You know his condition better than anyone, I'm sure. Good luck and bless you!

[Despe in reply to JAS9]

Yes, he has taken more meds, but that makes him worse! Moody, irritated with a frowning face. You know that every individual is different and what works for you, it doesn't necessarily work for other PD people. I am still following his MDS's advice.

Thanks for your insight.

[JAS9]

I have my bi-annual session with my neurologist this week and I plan on asking her about this. I don't see why I couldn't take the same doses of the two meds that they used in this study. I'm much further along than their patients were, but what could it hurt to try?