Parkinson, anti-diabetic drugs delay the disease

Patients taking anti-diabetic drugs develop Parkinson’s disease on average 6 years later than people who do not take the same drugs: according to a study conducted by the Parkinson’s Center and parkinsonisms of ASST Gaetano Pini-CTO of Milanwith the contribution of Grisons Foundation for Parkinson’s disease and published in the scientific journal Journal of Neurology.

The numbers that emerged from the study, which was made possible thanks to the database of the Parkinson and Parkinsonism Center of the ASST Gaetano Pini-CTO of Milan in the Lombardy Region – which currently has 37,000 patients – suggest a role of antidiabetic drugs in delayingonset of Parkinson’s and are in line with other publications in the scientific literature on the neuro-protective capabilities of metformina drug that could be taken by non-diabetics.

A discovery that bodes well for the cure and treatment of Parkinson’s disease, a neurological pathology that affects about 3 per thousand of the general population and about 1% of those over 60 years of age. It is estimated that today, in the world, they are 5 million people suffer from itof which approx 450,000 in Italy alonea steadily increasing number (there were 230,000 in 1990).

Parkinson’s: what emerged from the study

The research, based on a survey of 8,120 patients visited at the Parkinson Center between 2010 and 2019, revealed that in the 413 patients with diabetes, who took drugs for this pathology, the onset of Parkinson’s occurred on average after 66 years, while in the 7,707 non-diabetic patients, Parkinson’s manifested itself around the age of 60.

«The study suggests a neuro-protective property of anti-diabetic drugs and opens up the prospect of administering anti-diabetic drugs, such as metformin – which can also be taken by those who are not affected by this pathology – in people predisposed to developing Parkinson’s disease with the aim of delaying its onset “, he observed Gianni Pezzoli, first author of the researchpresident of the Grisons Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease and ofItalian Parkinsonian Association. “The data collected are very significant and prompt us to investigate not only the preventive capacity of anti-diabetic drugs but also their role in reducing the progression of Parkinson’s when it has already arisen,” she added.

The richness and quality of the cases collected allowed us to extract significant data on the interaction between diabetes and Parkinson’s. In this sense, the study by the Parkinson Center represents a solid basis for investigating with further research the neuro-protective properties of antidiabetic drugs, such as those that are generally defined as “glucagon substitutes”, as well as their ability to reduce the natural progression of Parkinson’s disease.

“This publication lays the groundwork for initiating very robust comparative clinical trials in the future give anti-diabetic medicines to people with risk factors of Parkinson’s, such as the presence of the disease in the familyor symptoms prior to the onset of the disease such asnocturnal agitationthe reduction of smelland even more generic signs such as the constipation it’s a mild depression»highlights Ioannis Isaiasdirector of the Parkinson and parkinsonism Center of the ASST Gaetano Pini-CTO of Milan.

The importance of supporting Research

Much has been discovered in recent years, but much remains to be discovered about Parkinson’s disease. Currently we know the degenerative processes, the symptoms, many therapeutic aspects, but for now there are only non-definitive hypotheses on the causes.

The notable improvement in the quality of life of Parkinson’s patients that has occurred in recent decades is undoubtedly due to the knowledge acquired by the numerous groups of researchers operating around the world. However, experimental and clinical research requires considerable professionalism and economic resources. For this the Grisons Foundation for Parkinson’s Diseasein its work of assistance to the sick, has as its objective the raising of the funds necessary to finance scientific research in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

It is possible to contribute and help finance health research by donating your 5 per thousand to Grisons Foundation for Parkinson’s Diseaseplacing his signature in the appropriate box of the tax return and indicating the tax code of the Grisons Foundation for Parkinson’s disease: 97128900152.

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