Ecstasy helps Parkinson's disease, research suggests

WASHINGTON - Amphetamines, including the party drug Ecstasy, have reversed the effects of Parkinson's disease in mice, researchers say.

Their finding does not suggest using illegal drugs to treat the incurable brain disease, but may offer a way forward.

The team at Duke University in North Carolina treated mice that were genetically modified to suffer from Parkinson's-like symptoms.

More than 60 types of amphetamines were tested.

Fourteen of the drugs helped to reverse the symptoms of the mice, including the tremors and rigidity that mark the disease - raising the possibility of exploring related treatments for humans.

Parkinson's is caused by the death of brain cells that control physical movement and produce the essential chemical dopamine.

Marc Caron, who led the research, said it showed that dopamine replacement, so far the most common, but only partly effective Parkinson's treatment, might not be the only option.

He said amphetamine-like drugs, similar to those now given to children with attention deficit disorder, could eventually be used for Parkinson's.

"We give these drugs in low doses to children, so it's not so terrible to say some day we should give similar drugs to Parkinson's patients."

MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, proved the most effective of the amphetamines for counteracting Parkinson's symptoms in the mice.

- REUTERS