Researchers have discovered a drug that has for the first time been proven to slow down the rate at which Parkinson’s disease develops - meaning great news for the approximate 120,000 sufferers in the UK.
A study carried out using 1,176 patients from 14 countries all over the world including Britain, who were in the early stages of the disease, revealed that the drug rasagiline was capable of slowing down deterioration.
The drug, brand name Azilect, is not new to doctors treating patients with Parkinson’s, however in the past some were not keen to prescribe it too early into the disease, with concerns the effect would not last long enough.
Research by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, recommends the use of the drug as soon as possible would maximise the possibility of slowing down the progressive disease.
The study revealed that after 18 months of taking 1mg daily of the drug earlier on, showed less deterioration than those patients where treatment was delayed by nine months.
The researchers added that although the results were small, they were still of huge clinical significance.
