2. Old drugs, new tricks
Finding new uses for old drugs has great promise for quickly
bringing new treatments to people with Parkinson’s.
As these drugs are already widely used for other conditions, we
know they’re safe. And this gives them a head-start in the clinical
trials marathon.
3. This isn’t a new idea…
And we already have some exciting leads for
Parkinson’s…
4. Diabetes drugs?
The diabetes drug exenatide (based on a
compound found in the saliva of the
venomous lizard) is already being trialled in
people with Parkinson’s – with very
promising results.
5. Nicotine?
People who smoke are at lower risk of
developing Parkinson’s.
We’ve funded research into the
potential of nicotine in Oxford, with
promising results.
And now trials of nicotine patches are
underway in Germany and the US….
6. Sleep drugs
We’re funding a small pilot trial to
see whether low doses of zolpidem
– a drug commonly used to treat
insomnia – could be beneficial to
people with Parkinson’s.
7. Looking for a needle in a haystack?
So far, most of these existing drugs with potential for Parkinson’s
have been discovered by luck rather than judgement….
We need a more
systematic (and
scientific) approach to
finding the remaining
needles in the haystack.
8. Heather’s project
“For me, the most exciting avenue
for Parkinson’s research is the new
techniques available to carry out
fast and accurate screening to find
new drugs for the condition.
“This used to be led by the
pharmaceutical industry, but
advances in this area mean this is
now something that university
researchers like me can do.”
9. Better drug screening – finding new
uses for old drugs
Who? Dr Heather Mortiboys
Where? University of Sheffield
What? £249,565 over 3 years
Heather is screening drugs that are already used to treat other
illnesses to identify ones that may have potential for Parkinson’s.
To identify drugs that will benefit as many people with Parkinson’s
as possible, Heather will test the drugs in skin cells from people
with inherited and non-inherited forms of Parkinson’s.
10. The ultimate goal of Heather’s research is to
find more drugs that will be beneficial for people
with Parkinson’s.
And crucially, these drugs could move rapidly
into clinical testing, and ultimately produce new
treatments sooner rather than later.
