| A study has found that the cough medicine Ambroxol can help treat Parkinson’s disease. (Photo = DB) |
[메디컬투데이=최재백 기자] Research has shown that the cough medicine Ambroxol may help treat Parkinson’s disease.
Research results suggesting that the cough medicine ambroxol can help treat Parkinson’s disease have been published in ‘2020 JAMA Neurology’.
Ambroxol is a cough medicine for clearing phlegm and clearing the throat. It has been used as an over-the-counter medicine in more than 50 countries for over 30 years, but it has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to a study published in the Journal of Blood Chemistry in 2009, ambroxol is effective in increasing GCase protein levels in patients with Gaucher’s disease.
GCase protein is a protein involved in removing protein debris in the body, and experts claim that it is also effective in removing alpha-synuclein protein, which causes Parkinson’s disease.
The GBA1 gene corresponds to a genetic risk factor for Parkinson’s disease and is known to be involved in the synthesis of GCase enzymes. Studies have shown that GCase activity is reduced in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients, regardless of whether or not they have a GBA1 mutation.
The research team said they were immersed in using ambroxol as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease after it was discovered that it had the effect of increasing GCase levels.
The research team said that it proved the safety of Ambroxol in this phase 2 clinical trial.
They administered ambroxol in increasing doses from January 11, 2017 to April 25, 2018 to 17 patients with Parkinson’s disease, with an average age of 60.2 years. The test results were analyzed.
The initial dose of ambroxol was 60 milligrams (mg), and the dose was gradually increased each day to a final dose of 1.26 grams (g).
The research team examined the patients’ cerebrospinal fluid at the start of the study and on day 186, and performed an optional lumbar puncture on day 279.
As a result of the study, the researchers found that Ambroxol crossed the blood-brain barrier and increased the patients’ GCase levels by 35%.
The research team said it plans to start a phase 3 clinical trial early this year. They explained that the Phase 3 clinical trial would recruit 330 Parkinson’s disease patients, regardless of GBA1 gene mutation, from 10 to 12 locations in the UK, and that they would take Ambroxol daily for two years.
Experts are concerned that cough medicines can induce sedation and increase the risk of falls in some people with Parkinson’s disease, and cautioned that more data should be waited for.
Medical Today Reporter Jaebaek Choi (jaebaekchoi@naver.com)
[저작권자ⓒ 메디컬투데이. 무단전재-재배포 금지]
