Study supports possible role of urate in slowing Parkinson's disease progression
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 16:14
in Health & Medicine
By examining data from a 20-year-old clinical trial, a research team based at the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (MGH-MIND) and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), has found evidence supporting the findings of their 2008 study - that elevated levels of the antioxidant urate may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. The report - which will appear in the December 2009 Archives of Neurology and has been released online - analyzed blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples from participants in a 1980s trail of potential Parkinson's medications, confirming the previous study's findings in a totally different group of patients.