Polypharmacy Linked to Cognitive Decline in Newly Diagnosed Parkinson’s Patients, Study Finds

OCTOBER 16, 2019    BY JOANA CARVALHO, MSC 

Taking several different medications at the same time to treat concurrent health conditions — known as polypharmacy — may be associated with cognitive decline in people newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent study.

Reducing the number of medications prescribed would be one option to minimize the potentially harmful effects of polypharmacy on patients’ cognitive abilities, the researchers said.

The study, “Polypharmacy Associated with Cognitive Decline in Newly Diagnosed Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study,” was published in the journal Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.

Polypharmacy — most commonly defined as taking five or more medications concurrently for different conditions — is an emerging concern, particularly for the elderly. It has been associated with falls, adverse medication events, and hospitalization, researchers say.

A previous study found that polypharmacy also is associated with cognitive impairment in older adults who live independently.

However, its effects on the cognitive function of newly diagnosed patients with Parkinson’s disease — a neurodegenerative disorder associated with cognitive impairments and, at later stages, dementia — are still unclear.

In this study, investigators from the University of Miyazaki in Japan set out to explore the possible association between polypharmacy and cognitive decline in people who were recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

The cross-sectional study enrolled 131 patients who had been consecutively hospitalized at the University of Miyazaki Hospital and were newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Participants were divided into two groups, depending on whether they met the criteria for polypharmacy — which was defined for this study as taking six or more medications to treat different health conditions.

Cognitive function was assessed in all study participants using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and compared between the two groups. All comparisons were normalized for potential confounders, including age, sex, education and medical history.

Among the 131 patients (mean age 69.8 years, 46.6% male) enrolled in the study, 43 (32.8%) met the criteria for polypharmacy.

After performing data adjustments for possible confounders, researchers found that the individuals who met the polypharmacy criteria had significantly lower MMSE scores compared with those who did not (26.2 versus 27.7). These results were indicative of cognitive decline.

“This is the first study to demonstrate an association between polypharmacy and cognitive decline in patients with newly diagnosed PD [Parkinson’s disease], as well as in community-dwelling older adults,” or people living independently, the researchers said.

“Medication reduction might be a promising intervention to prevent the development of dementia in patients with early PD,” the investigators said.

“Further prospective studies are needed to confirm whether medication reduction in patients with newly diagnosed PD can improve cognitive function and prevent the development of dementia,” they added.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/10/16/polypharmacy-linked-cognitive-decline-newly-diagnosed-parkinsons-patients/

‘Get It On Time’ Petition Seeks Better Access to Parkinson’s Meds in UK

OCTOBER 16, 2019 BY "SHERRI WOODBRIDGE"

A healthcare petition called “Get It On Time” is circulating in the U.K. among people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). According to the petition, hospitalized PD patients are not getting the medications they need on time, if at all.

Over 700 patients in the U.K. were surveyed from May to July. Seventy-eight percent said their health suffered setbacks as a result of missed medications, including tremors, anxiety, decreased mobility, and communication issues. The Guardian health policy editor Denis Campbell noted that some Parkinson’s patients are unable to walk or talk because they don’t get their medications on time.

On Twitter, David Sangster, a Parkinson’s advocate in the U.K., described his hospital experience as a “caring environment, clean and professional. The visiting specialists nurses were … experts in every facet of PD, they were remarkable. … But #parkinsons was not understood on the ward and that’s wrong.”

Dawn Iola Chappell, another U.K. resident, responded to a tweet regarding the petition by saying, “[M]y Dad did not get his medication on time and it was the beginning of the end.”

It’s not just an issue in the UK

Before my deep brain stimulation surgery, my doctor told me to bring my medications to the hospital and administer them myself. The staff was unaware of the importance of distributing medications accurately or on time. Hospitals can be a frightening place, so it’s important that you take an active role in your healthcare, no matter how much you trust your medical team.

When medication schedules are not adhered to, a variety of problems can occur. The patient may begin to flail about. Tremors that were under control may worsen, or the patient may appear to be experiencing seizures. In response, hospital staff might treat the patient for seizures, resulting in dangerous and even fatal outcomes, which you can read about here.

What can you do now to prevent a mishap later? If possible, people with PD should have an advocate with them who knows the medication schedule and can help with administration should the need arise. One patient suggested the use of flashcards when a patient is coherent but unable to communicate verbally. For example, one of the flashcards could include: “Need PD meds now!”

If you’re a resident of the U.K., consider signing the petition: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/news/sign-our-get-it-time-petition

Every name helps!

***

Note: Parkinson’s News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Parkinson’s News Today or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/10/16/get-it-time-petition-advocacy-better-medication-access-uk/

Veterans with PTSD or Brain Injury at Risk of Sleep Disorder That Might Signal Parkinson’s, Study Finds

OCTOBER 16, 2019 BY ALICE MELÃO IN NEWS.

Military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or who experienced a traumatic brain injury have more than double the risk of a rare sleep disorder — called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder — previously reported as a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease, a study finds.

Researchers at the VA Portland Health Care System and Oregon Health and Science University, who were responsible for this study, are now planning to explore this association and the incidence of Parkinson’s among veterans with REM sleep behavior disorder (or RBD).

“This is important because, in the general population, RBD has been linked to Parkinson’s disease, and RBD often precedes classic symptoms of Parkinson’s by years,” Miranda Lim, MD, PhD, a staff physician at the VA and the study’s senior author, said in a news release.

The study, “Post-traumatic stress disorder increases odds of REM sleep behavior disorder and other parasomnias in Veterans with and without comorbid traumatic brain injury” was published in the journal SLEEP.

RBD is characterized by uncontrolled and violent arm and leg movements, and acting out dreams during sleep. This sleep disorder has been specifically linked to the development of synuclein-related diseases. RBD of no known cause, called idiopathic RBD, occurs in approximately 1% of the general population.

Previous studies suggest that people with RBD are at a greater risk of neurodegenerative disorders — such as Parkinson’s and dementia — with 6.25% of them acquiring an overt neurodegenerative disease within a mean period of 4.6 years. The risk of developing such diseases was also found to progressively increase, from 10.6% after two years to 73.5% after 12 years.

Veterans are at a particularly high risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and PTSD, and as such represent a “population enriched for a history of trauma.” Concussions and other mild brain injuries, which many experience during their military service, are also linked to an increased Parkinson’s risk. One study reported that veterans with any kind of traumatic brain injury had a 71% higher likelihood of Parkinson’s than other vets.

Researchers now evaluated veterans’ sleeping patterns according to their pre-existing history of brain injury or other neuropsychiatric trauma, investigating the prevalence of RBD in 394 veterans —mainly male (94%) and middle-aged (54.4 years) — and its association with TBI and PTSD.

Analysis of veterans’ sleep patterns, based on the electrical activity in muscles, found that 9% of them experienced RBD, 7% had higher muscle tone during REM or deep sleep — a condition known as REM sleep without atonia — and 31% had other sleeping problems (parasomnias). This suggested that RBD is considerably more common in veterans than the general population.

They found that veterans with a brain injury or PTSD had a higher incidence of parasomnias. In particular, among those with PTSD or PTSD plus brain injury only 32% and 20% had normal sleeping behaviors, while 56% of these people experienced REM sleep behavior disorder.

Overall, veterans with PTSD had 2.81 and 3.13 times higher odds of RBD and other parasomnias, while those with PTSD plus TBI had 3.43 and 3.22 times higher odds of RBD or other parasomnias.

Given the strong association between RBD and progressive neurodegenerative disorders, it remains to be determined whether RBD and neuropsychiatric symptoms “increases the risk of similar long-term neurologic sequelae [consequences],” the researchers wrote.

“We don’t know whether veterans who have PTSD and higher rates of RBD will go on to develop Parkinson’s, but it is an important question we need to answer,” Lim said. “If you could intervene when people first start to show RBD, maybe you could prevent later symptoms of Parkinson’s.”

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/10/16/veterans-ptsd-traumatic-brain-injury-at-risk-for-sleep-disorder-possibly-parkinsons/

Bipolar disorder may increase risk for developing Parkinson disease

OCTOBER 15, 2019

(HealthDay)—Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) seem to have an increased risk for developing Parkinson disease (PD), according to a review published online Oct. 14 in JAMA Neurology.

Patricia R. Faustino, M.D., from the University of Lisbon in Portugal, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to examine the correlation of BP with a later diagnosis of idiopathic PD. Seven studies that included data on the likelihood of developing PD in a BD versus non-BD population were included, with 4,374,211 participants.

The researchers found that the likelihood of a subsequent diagnosis of idiopathic PD was increased with a previous diagnosis of BD (odds ratio, 3.35). In a sensitivity analysis with removal of studies that had a high risk for bias, an increased risk for PD was seen in people with BD (odds ratio, 3.21). There was no significant effect noted in preplanned subgroup analyses according to study design and diagnostic certainty.

"The main clinical implication of this review should be to underline that if patients with BD present with parkinsonism features, this may not be drug induced and may recommend the investigation of PD," the authors write. "There are implications for the care of patients with BD, namely with longitudinal motor assessments, monitoring for prodromal motor or nonmotor signs of PD, and eventually by parkinsonism risk mitigation via medication selections and nonpharmacological treatments."

Two authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Journal information: Archives of Neurology 

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-10-bipolar-disorder-parkinson-disease.html

Study suggests a protein could play key role in neurodegenerative diseases

OCTOBER 15, 2019     by Queen Mary,University of London

Research led by Queen Mary University of London and the University of Seville around one protein's role in regulating brain inflammation could improve our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.

The findings of a study involving mice are published today in the scientific journal Cell Reports.

The lead authors, Dr. Miguel Burguillos from the University of Seville and Dr. Miguel Branco from Queen Mary, found that when the brain is under inflammatory conditions a protein called TET2 regulates the immune response generated in the brain's immune cells (or microglia).

Although neuroinflammation has an important beneficial role in fighting infection and responding to brain injury, excess or chronic inflammation can kill surrounding neurons. The death of such neurons can lead to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

The authors found that removing TET2 in mice hampered the neuroinflammatory response.

Dr. Burguillos said: "We already knew that TET2 removes particular 'chemical flags' from DNA that help determine whether a gene is active or not. However, we found that TET2 is actually needed to fully activate key immune cells of the brain. It appears to act differently in inflamed brain cells compared to those in other parts of the body."

Dr. Branco said: "Although this is an exploratory study, the findings open up a new path for those researching neurodegenerative diseases where neuroinflammation driven by microglia contributes to their pathology. In the longer term it could shape the search for new treatments for those conditions.

"More information: Alejandro Carrillo-Jimenez et al, TET2 Regulates the Neuroinflammatory Response in Microglia, Cell Reports (2019).  DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.09.013

Journal information: Cell Reports 

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-10-protein-key-role-neurodegenerative-diseases.html

We Share a Fear of Being a Burden, but We All Need Someone

 OCTOBER 14, 2019 BY "SHERRI WOODBRIDGE"

“You’re not a burden. You’re a human.” –Anonymous

It’s easy to feel alone when living with a chronic illness. You may think no one else truly understands, that you’re nothing more than a burden to others — with all of your “oddities,” you no longer fit in. Those feelings can push you to believe that you are destined to being alone, which leads you toward loneliness.

If you’re not involved in a community support group for people who also have your chronic illness, you are missing out. I am not the kind of person who jumps up and heads out the door to join a support group. It took me a long time to get connected because when I was diagnosed, I was working, and my hours didn’t allow me to attend a structured group. So I found support another way.

One night while surfing the internet, I came across a site, DailyStrength. This online community of people with various diseases and issues is divided into small groups — one of these is for people with Parkinson’s disease. I clicked and joined.

At first, I was an observer. I quickly recognized that this group of people cared for each other. The sense of community was phenomenal. They understood each other in a way no one else could. They were in the same boat or rowing a similar one — venting, grieving, encouraging, supporting — like a family sharing an unspoken bond. 

I wanted to be a part of that family.

“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion … who can tolerate not knowing, not curing … that is a friend who cares.”  –Henri Nouwen

The real fear of being alone is familiar to anyone with a serious illness. We fear something will happen to us when no one is around to help — for instance, falling and being unable to get up. We worry about being alone at the end of our journey with no one by our side. We fear that no one will understand what we’re going through — or will go through — and that we’ll find ourselves alone, physically and emotionally.

I have always been a “giver.” And I know it’s hard for some givers to receive. It feels awkward, unfamiliar, and selfish. If you are a giver, you will know of the joy and the blessing that you receive when you give. So when we refuse to be the receiver, we are taking that giver’s blessing from others.

Do you need someone? 

Do you need someone to talk to, care, or understand? Would you like to have someone to sit and cry with you? Let them know. No one can read your mind. Trust me on this.

Many of us who have a chronic illness share a fear of being a burden to someone else. If you have Parkinson’s, you will have to accept help from someone, somewhere, somehow, at some time. 

My story of being humbled

In my earlier days of Parkinson’s, I found it increasingly difficult to tie my shoes. To have someone tie them for me when I was in my early 40s was a little humiliating to me. 

I knew that it could be worse, but I felt like a kindergartener having her mommy tie her shoes because she couldn’t figure it out for herself. 

I disliked asking my husband to tie my shoes. It felt like an inconvenience, a burden with a capital “B.”

Having my shoes tied humbled me and also prompted me to find footwear that I could slip on by myself. Is it still an issue of pride? Perhaps. Or maybe I merely want to hold on to my independence for as long as possible.

“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” –Bernice Johnson Reagon

Don’t allow yourself to be paralyzed and without friends. Put on those shoes, even if someone else has to tie them for you. Then get up and go out. Make a new friend or call an old one. You’ll feel better for it.

***

Note: Parkinson’s News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Parkinson’s News Today or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/10/14/burden-online-community-independence/

$20M Grant Awarded for Research into Imaging Protein Misfolding in Parkinson’s

OCTOBER 14, 2019 BY MARISA WEXLER 

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has awarded a five-year, $20 million grant to researchers looking for a way to image misfolded proteins in the brains of people with Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, which could greatly advance diagnosis and disease monitoring.

Parkinson’s disease is thought to be a proteinopathy — a condition caused by proteins in the brain folding improperly, which sets off a chain reaction of misfolding in other proteins, eventually forming clumps and damaging the brain. Specifically, Parkinson’s is characterized by clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein.

Alzheimer’s disease is another proteinopathy, characterized by clumps of beta-amyloid. But there’s a crucial difference between the two in terms of how they are diagnosed and managed.

Brains can be imaged using a positron emission tomography (PET) scan, a technique in which a radioactive dye called a tracer is injected into the body. The tracer then binds to specific proteins, allowing clumps of these proteins to be visible on the scan. Although PET scans have been able to image beta-amyloid plaques for nearly a decade, the technology to visualize clumps of alpha-synuclein doesn’t yet exist.

The NINDS grant hopes to foster the development of a PET tracer that will bind to alpha-synuclein, as well as another tracer that will bind to 4R tau, a protein with important roles in frontotemporal degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy.

This will be done using computers to find promising chemical formulations, then synthesizing and testing them. Although straightforward in theory, actually finding a molecule that can safely and specifically bind to these proteins is akin to finding a needle in a haystack, the researchers said. Hence, the importance of beginning with computer simulations.

“Finding a needle in a haystack is much easier when you have a machine made to find needles,” Andrew Siderowf, MD, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and study leader, said in a press release.

The effort will also be led by researchers at Washington University-St. Louis, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of California-San Francisco, and Yale University.

Finding such a dye could allow screening for early detection of Parkinson’s disease before symptomsmanifest. It could be used as an objective marker of an investigative treatment’s effectiveness in clinical trials.

“Currently, when testing new drugs for Parkinson’s, assessing the patient’s clinical symptoms is the only way to measure whether or not the treatment is working, but clinical features evolve very gradually,” Siderowf said. “Having an imaging biomarker that is sensitive to changes in a Parkinson’s pathology could greatly accelerate drug development.”

Robert H. Mach, PhD, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and study co-investigator, summarized the researchers’ goal: “At the end of five years, we hope to have a radioactive tracer that will be able to detect Parkinson’s early on and provide detailed information about the disease’s progression, which is critical for discovering and testing new treatments.”

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/10/14/20-million-grant-awarded-study-imaging-protein-misfolding-parkinsons/

Researchers Using Real-time Brain Mapping to Search for Therapeutic Targets in PD

 OCTOBER 14, 2019  BY PATRICIA INACIO, PHD IN NEWS.

Using its brain mapping platform, Inscopix will team up with researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to investigate how changes in brain activity alter the functioning of nerve cells. The goal is to identify new therapeutic targets for Parkinson’s disease.

The collaboration will be led by Evan Macosko, MD, PhD, of the Broad Institute’s Macosko Lab, an expert in single-cell transcriptomics — a next-generation sequencing approach that assesses how gene activity changes in a single cell.

This research builds on a previous study that used Inscopix’s miniature microscope, called nVoke, which allows simultaneous imaging and manipulation of nerve cells’ circuit dynamics in real time. The technology allows researchers to image cell activity for months with single-cell resolution in a living animal.

The previous study, “Diametric neural ensemble dynamics in parkinsonian and dyskinetic states,” published in Nature, used nVoke to identify alterations in neural activity patterns in brain circuits that regulate movement in a Parkinson’s mouse model. This model mimics the human disease by gradually losing dopaminergic neurons — a hallmark of Parkinson’s.

Dopaminergic neurons release the neurotransmitter dopamine — a chemical substance produced in response to nerve signals that allow nerve cells to communicate. In Parkinson’s disease, dopamine-producing neurons are mainly lost in a brain region known as the substantia nigra, which plays a key role in reward and movement.

Now, the researchers will investigate whether the observed changes in neuronal activity in the Parkinson’s mouse model can be correlated to changes in the expression of genes detected in single cells, which may have occurred as a result of the loss of dopamine. Gene expression is the process by which information in a gene is synthesized to create a working product, like a protein.

By analyzing neuronal activity and gene activity, the researchers hope to gain further insights into the mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease. This may allow the identification of new, cell-type specific therapeutic targets.

According to Inscopix, real-time mapping of neural activity in brain circuits has been shown to more accurately predict the efficacy of a therapy to work on the brain, when compared with analyzing animal behavior.

“Single-cell transcriptomics and brain mapping have each demonstrated the potential to increase our understanding of neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, and bringing them together could help us make even greater strides forward,” Kunal Ghosh, CEO of Inscopix, said in a press release.

“We look forward to expanding our research into PD [Parkinson’s disease] with the Macosko Lab, with the goal of paving the way for therapeutic programs that can be de-risked at earlier stages of development,” Ghosh added.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/10/14/researchers-using-real-time-brain-mapping-search-parkinsons-therapeutic-targets/

Pioneering clinical trial to treat psychosis in Parkinson's patients using cannabidiol

OCTOBER 14, 2019 /by Parkinson's UK  Parkinson's disease

Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein showing positive staining (brown) of an intraneural Lewy-body in the Substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease. Credit: Wikipedia

A pioneering clinical trial will investigate the use of cannabidiol (CBD) - a compound found in the cannabis plant—in people with Parkinson's-related psychosis.

Parkinson's UK, the largest charitable funder of Parkinson's research in Europe, is partnering with scientists at King's College London and investing £1.2 million in the phase II clinical trial.

This is the first large-scale trial which will aim to provide preliminary evidence for the safety and efficacy of CBD to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson's-related psychosis, characterised by hallucinations and delusions.

The three-and-a-half-year project is part of the Parkinson's Virtual Biotech, led by Parkinson's UK, which is plugging the funding gap in drug development and fast-tracking the projects with the greatest scientific potential, to transform the lives of people with Parkinson's. Unlike traditional biotech companies, patient priorities and involvement are the primary drivers of the Parkinson's Virtual Biotech.

There are currently 145,000 people living with Parkinson's in the UK and between 50 and 60 per cent of them will be affected by psychosis at some point in their life. Hallucinations occur when individuals see, hear or feel things that are not really there. Delusions involve developing fixed beliefs that are not true. These symptoms can be frightening and distressing for people with Parkinson's and their families and are typically managed with the removal of medication used to treat Parkinson's. If the symptoms persist, antipsychotic drugs are sometimes used, however this can result in worsened motor symptoms and side effects. In the UK, there are no medications licenced for Parkinson's-related psychosis.

In a recent survey, people with Parkinson's told the charity they would continue to use, or start using, cannabis-derived products if robust evidence became available that they are safe and effective in treating Parkinson's symptoms.

The study, due to start recruitment early next year, will begin with a six-week pilot to assess the safety, tolerability and effectiveness of pharmaceutical-grade CBD in people with Parkinson's-related psychosis. To find the optimum dose, CBD will be delivered orally in capsules at a dose of up to 1,000 mg/day. In the second stage, 120 people with Parkinson's-related psychosis will be recruited to take part in a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study.Scientists will assess the safety and effectiveness of CBD, with half the group receiving the compound and half a placebo. Researchers will then carry out detailed assessments of psychotic, motor and non-motor symptoms. Brain imaging will be used to investigate the effects of CBD.

The announcement comes ahead of final guidance on medicinal cannabis which is due to be published by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence next month.

Dr. Arthur Roach, Director of Research at Parkinson's UK, said:

"We know from a recent survey we carried out, that people with Parkinson's would continue to use, or start using, cannabis-derived products if robust evidence became available that they are safe and effective in treating Parkinson's symptoms. One of the key questions this clinical trial will address is if CBD is safe to use for Parkinson's-related psychosis, which has never been done before.

"This trial will provide evidence of the value of CBD to treat the symptoms of hallucinations and delusions in people with Parkinson's. This could result in a regulated cannabinoid-based medicine being prescribed and used in the clinic, as opposed to self-administration of expensive supplements that have not been monitored for their composition or effects."

"The projects funded through the Parkinson's Virtual Biotech are driven completely by the Parkinson's community. We hope this unique trial will demonstrate the potential of CBD to alleviate some important symptoms and bring us one step closer to delivering a treatment that will improve the quality of life for those affected."

Lead Researcher, Professor Sagnik Bhattacharya, Professor of Translational Neuroscience and Psychiatry at King's College London, said:

"Through funding from the Parkinson's Virtual Biotech this clinical trial will determine, for the first time, whether CBD can correct the abnormal functioning of the brain that is causing symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. Current treatments prescribed by clinicians for psychosis typically work by blocking dopamine receptors which can increase the problems people with Parkinson's experience with movement and other symptoms of the condition.

"We will be assessing how safe CBD is for people with Parkinson's, what the correct dosage is and how it is tolerated alongside the different medications someone with the condition may already be on. The study will also look at the effect of CBD on other symptoms which will pave the way for scientists to investigate the potential of the compound in treating these in future studies. We hope that this will progress to large-scale clinical trials—the final step towards becoming a new treatment that will improve the lives of people with Parkinson's."

More information: www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/de … 0-%20July%202019.pdf

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-10-clinical-trial-psychosis-parkinson-patients.html