Cancer Drug shows promise as Treatment for Parkinson's

A Novartis AG drug used for treating leukemia may also work for patients with Parkinson’s disease, judging from one small and early clinical test.
An early stage trial conducted by the Georgetown University Medical Center found a small dose of the medicine, Tasigna, produced “meaningful clinical improvements” in 10 out of 11 patients.
There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease and participants in the study saw production of the brain chemical dopamine increase so much researchers had to advise them to reduce or stop taking other drugs. Parkinson’s, a degenerative condition causing tremor and motor impairment, is associated with dysfunctions in the dopamine system and affects an estimated 10 million people worldwide.
Some patients in the study had Lewy body dementia, the second most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.
The study marks the first time a therapy appears to reverse the “cognitive and motor decline in patients with these neuro-degenerative disorders.”