Ambroxol and Parkinson's dementia
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A common cough medicine may slow cognitive decline in people with Parkinson’s disease dementia, a clinical trial has revealed.
A 12-month study conducted by researchers at Lawson Research Institute found that Ambroxol helped stabilise psychiatric symptoms, improved cognitive function, and protected against brain damage in genetically at-risk participants.
Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD) causes symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, hallucinations, and mood changes. Approximately 153,000 people in the UK live with Parkinson’s disease.
There is currently no cure for PDD, but patients can take medications called cholinesterase inhibitors to help manage symptoms.
“Our current treatments for Parkinson’s disease and dementia treat the symptoms, but do not change the underlying course of the disease,” Dr Stephen Pasternak, the lead author of the study, told The Standard.
“We hope that Ambroxol, a cough medicine available over the counter in most of the world, but not in the United States or Canada, will change the course of Parkinson’s disease dementia (and related diseases).”
