If you are interested in research going on in the Parkinson’s world that might affect the atypical parkinsonism disorders, this post may be of value to you.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has organized a nationwide effort called NET-PD (Neuroprotection Exploratory Trials in Parkinson’s Disease), a randomized, double-blind futility trial, to study compounds that may slow the clinical decline of Parkinson’s disease. Creatine and the antibiotic minocycline were identified as agents worthy of preliminary study.
In a press release on the study that was released in conjunction with the World Parkinson Congress in Feb ’06, the lead investigator said that a “clinical trial with 200 Parkinson’s disease patients has shown that creatine and minocycline may warrant further consideration for study in a large trial.”
Here’s a link to the press release titled
“Preliminary Results Shows Creatine and Minocycline May Warrant Further Study in Parkinson’s Disease”:
www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/press_releases/pressrelease_parkinsons_20060223.htm
The bottom line is this:
“The trial investigators note that while encouraging, this pilot study does not have sufficient numbers of patients or duration of follow-up to recommend that patients with Parkinson’s take either agent. In fact, the investigators caution Parkinson’s patients and their physicians not to interpret the results of this study as suggesting such a course of treatment. Further study is required before the researchers can conclude whether creatine or minocycline is in fact helpful, harmful or has no significant impact.”
Robin