21st May 2013 - New
research
Annals of Neurology [2013] May 9 [Epub ahead of print] (Nielsen SS, Franklin GM, Longstreth WT, Swanson PD, Checkoway H.)
Nicotine has long been known to reduce the risk of Parkinson's
Disease. So researchers assessed whether the risk of Parkinson's Disease is
associated with the consumption of nicotine-containing vegetables edibles from
the same botanical family as tobacco, Solanaceae, which includes peppers,
tomatoes, and potatoes.
When people with Parkinson's Disease were compared with
those people that did not have it, Parkinson's Disease was found to be less
likely in those people that ate more peppers, tomatoes, tomato juice, and
potatoes during adulthood. An association was also found for just peppers. The
likelihood of developing Parkinson's Disease was an average of 81% as likely,
and in some people down to 65% as likely. The association was intensified when
the nicotine concentration of the vegetables was higher. So it was nicotine that
caused the effect. The potential effect largely occurred in people who had never
used tobacco or who had smoked cigarettes for less than 10 years.
Consumption of other vegetables was unrelated to the likelihood
of developing Parkinson's Disease. For a
Preladenant was taken in 5mg dosages twice a day alongside
L-dopa for nine months. Adverse reactions caused 14% of people to cease taking
it. Adverse reactions experienced by some people were dyskinesia and
constipation. Preladenant provided reductions in "off" time by between 1 hour 24
minutes and 1 hour 54 minutes. "On" time increased by between 1 hour 12 minutes
and 1 hour 30 minutes.