Llink between a class of drugs used to treat diabetes and protection against Parkinson's disease(PD).

Washington DC, July 22 - Scientists have found a link between a class of drugs used to treat diabetes and protection against Parkinson's disease(PD).

The study conducted by Dr. Ruth Brauer, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, found a lower incidence of PD among people using a glitazone drug (either rosiglitazone or pioglitazone) to treat diabetes when compared to people who had used different treatments for diabetes.

These findings are consistent with animal and in vitro studies which suggested that glitazones and other drugs that target peroxisome proliferation-activated receptor gamma may have neuroprotective effects.

It is important to note that these results may not apply to people without diabetes and do not indicate whether glitazones can slow PD progression.

Further, it is possible that unknown patient characteristics associated with glitazone use might also be linked to PD, contributing to the appearance of a direct causal connection. In addition, glitazones have been associated with serious side effects.

However, the authors are hopeful that these findings may pave the way towards other treatments that target the same pathway. (ANI)

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: Common Diabetes Meds Tied to Lower Risk for Parkinson's  Study can't prove cause and effect, but saw dip in odds for people taking drugs such as Actos  and Avandia By Robert Preidt TUESDAY, July 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A class of diabetes meds that  include widely  used drugs such as Actos and Avandia may help protect users against  Parkinson's disease, a new study suggests. The study included nearly 44,600 British diabetes patients who took what  are known as glitazone drugs -- Avandia's generic name is rosiglitazone,  while pioglitazone is the generic name for Actos. Researchers compared the medical records of those diabetes patients against  the records of more than 120,000 diabetes patients who did not take a  glitazone.  The investigators tracked these records from 1999 -- when glitazones  were introduced to treat diabetes -- until 2013. During that time, patients who used glitazones were 28 percent less likely  to be diagnosed with Parkinson's disease than those who never took one of  the meds, the study found.  This association between glitazones and lower risk of Parkinson's remained  even after the researchers adjusted for known predictors of Parkinson's,  such as smoking and head injury. However, when the investigators looked at past and current glitazone users  separately, they found that the lower risk of Parkinson's was seen only in  people currently using a glitazone (a 41 percent lower risk of Parkinson's),  not in those who had previously used glitazones but had stopped or  switched to another class of diabetes drugs. This suggests that any benefit wears off once a person goes off the drugs,  according to the team led by Dr. Ruth Brauer of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in London. Dr. Minisha Sood is a diabetes expert and an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She called the new finding "an exciting development because it suggests that glitazones may prevent the onset  of Parkinson's disease in patients with diabetes." However, "more studies are needed to confirm this finding," she added, " and studies in non-diabetic patients should be conducted to examine whether glitazone medications would be effective for that population  in the prevention of Parkinson's disease." The study was funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's  Research and was published July 21 in the journal PLoS Medicine.  While the study can't prove cause and effect, the researchers said the  findings are in line with prior animal and laboratory tests showing that  glitazones might help protect the brain. More information The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has  more about Parkinson's disease. SOURCES: Minisha Sood, M.D., endocrinologist, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York  City;  PLoS Medicine, news release, July 21, 2015 Copyright © 2015 HealthDay. All rights reserved.  URL:http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=701451 http://health.einnews.com/article/277084620/LS0acaReeCV84B4G