Epilepsy drug improves Parkinson's symptoms

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Zonisamide, which is used to treat epilepsy, is also found to be effective in Parkinson's disease.
Levodopa is the usual treatment for the tremor and other movement abnormalities that occur in Parkinson's disease. However, not all patients respond to levodopa. For this group, there is now new hope, according to the findings of a clinical trial of zonisamide, a drug generally used in the treatment of epilepsy.

A team at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan, assigned a group of 279 patients with Parkinson's disease to 25, 50 or 100mg of zonisamide or placebo daily. These were patients who had not responded to levodopa for 12 weeks. More than 30 per cent of the patients had a greater than 30 per cent reduction in Parkinson's disease symptoms like tremor. Best improvement was seen with those on the 50 mg dose of zonisamide. Preliminary data suggests that the improvement can be maintained for up to a year. It is not yet clear just how zonisamide works in Parkinson's disease - but it seems to be linked with few side effects, which is another bonus for patients who have not benefited from levodopa.

Source
Neurology 2nd January 2007

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