Clinical Trial Test New Treatment for Parkinson's Disease Dementia

Eli Lilly and Company this year launched a clinical trial for the first treatment designed to benefit patients with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), reports Medical Xpress . The University at Buffalo (UB) in New York is among 72 U.S. sites recruiting participants for this 12-week, randomized, placebo-controlled drug trial. PDD symptoms include a tendency to sleep for long periods at a time, sometimes 14 to 16 hours a day. "Sleeping so much can cause persons to lose muscle mass, becoming more frail and more prone to infection," says UB Professor Kinga Szigeti. "Changes in the nervous system can lead to an unhealthy drop in blood pressure, and persons become more prone to falls." The benefit of the new drug, LY3154207, is its novel mechanism of action on dopamine, the brain chemical that Parkinson's rapidly depletes. The oral drug is designed to maximize the brain's response to the remaining dopamine and enhance cognition, motor function, and wakefulness.