Drug hope for country’s 7,000 Parkinson’s sufferers

THOUSANDS of people in Ireland with Parkinson’s disease could have the quality of their lives enhanced by a drug now proven to slow down the progression of the chronic and fatal neurological disorder.

The drug Azilect (rasagiline), when taken once a day, was found to be effective, safe and well tolerated in a study involving almost 1,200 patients in 14 countries over 18 months.

As well as slowing the progression of the disease, the drug also provided symptomatic improvements. Parkinson’s disease is an age-related degenerative disorder of the brain where the symptoms can include tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement and impaired balance.