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Parkinson's
EXISTING
TREATMENTS may ease symptoms of the degenerative brain disorder but are not
believed to affect the underlying disease process. The new study found evidence
that the naturally occurring compound CoQ10 may help stop the nerve cell death
that characterizes Parkinson’s.
“This is really sort of the Holy Grail of
what we’re trying to do in Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr. Tim Greenamyre,
a Parkinson’s scientist at Emory University who was not involved in the
research. “They’re on the right track.”
The study involved just 80 people. Half ate
maple-nut flavored wafers containing various CoQ10 doses, half took a placebo
for up to 16 months.
By the study’s end, the 23 patients on
the highest daily doses had 44 percent less decline in mental function, movement
and ability to perform daily living tasks than the placebo group.
Lead author Dr. Clifford Shults at the
University of California at San Diego and colleagues cautioned that there is not
enough proof to recommend that Parkinson’s patients use the supplements, which
are sold over the counter as antioxidants that purportedly help improve heart
function.
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