AN OLD COUGH MEDICINE IS BEING TESTED AS A POSSIBLE TREATMENT TO SLOW DOWN PARKINSON’S DISEASE
Parkinson’s Disease is one of those maladies that we all know about. But for the most part, most of us don’t know much about it beyond the fact that it is a neurodegenerative condition that is brutal and only tends to get worse. In other words, it’s not something that you want to get, ever. And there’s nothing you can really do lifestyle wise to prevent it. But there may be hope for those who have it. And oddly enough, the help could be from an old cough medicine. Currently, it is being tested in England as a treatment for Parkinson’s.
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NOW IN CLINICAL TRIAL, THE OLD COUGH MEDICINE COULD POSITIVELY INTERACT WITH CERTAIN BRAIN PROTEINS
And by testing, I mean it is a formal clinical trial that has just begun. It is a placebo-controlled Phase III trial that will test whether the old cough medicine can slow down Parkinson’s progression, and hopefully improve the quality of life for those who have it. And the reason why it is being tested is earlier studies found that the old cough medicine can actually interact with the very brain proteins that are key to Parkinson’s disease development. This news sounds fantastic. But it remains to be seen if fantastic means positive, or merely fantastical.
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THE OLD COUGH MEDICINE IS AMBROXOL, AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY THAT THINS OUT MUCUS
The old cough medicine is ambroxol. It’s been used for about 35 years as a common ingredient in many cough medications. So if you’re over the age of 40, it’s more than likely you’ve taken the old cough medicine that may serve as a functional treatment for Parkinson’s. It thins out mucus, which is key to helping people with a cold breathe easier. It also reduces inflammation. But for Parkinson’s, this old cough medicine could raise the levels of GCase, a brain protein that helps regulate the brain’s waste clearance system. This could be key to slowing down the effects and progression of Parkinson’s, which slowly clutters the brain with misshapen forms of an otherwise harmless protein called alpha synuclein.
Let’s just hope that this old cough medicine proves to finally give some relief to people with Parkinson’s Disease.
