Lizard saliva derivative helps Parkinson’s patients
Un dérivé à base de salive de lézard vient en aide aux patients atteints de la maladie de Parkinson
Un nouveau traitement en vue ?
Toxiques voire mortels, les venins utilisés par les animaux pour chasser ou se défendre contiennent des molécules précieuses. Efficaces contre la douleur, ils sont déjà utilisés dans le traitement de l’hypertension et du diabète. Une nouvelle étude américaine démontre que la salive du monstre de Gila peut aider à lutter contre la maladie de Parkinson…
SAN DIEGO — A diabetes drug developed by a San Diego biotech company from a venomous lizard’s saliva reduces Parkinson’s disease symptoms, according to a study published last month. The placebo-controlled study of 62 patients found the drug, exenatide, provided statistically significant effectiveness in preserving motor control. It may actually slow down disease progression, although this has to be confirmed with more research.
2. For Parkinson’s patients, the trial represents stronger grounds to expect more effective treatments. The study was published in The Lancet by researchers led by Thomas Foltynie and Dilan Athauda, both of University College London in London. While the study wasn’t particularly large, with 62 patients, it was placebo-controlled, and is in line with a previous clinical study published in 2014.
3. Exenatide was found in Gila monster saliva by Dr. John Eng, an endocrinologist at Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York. The venomous lizard, native to the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, delivers excruciating pain with its bite. San Diego’s Amylin Pharmaceuticals licensed the discovery in 1996. Further development yielded exenatide. It reduces insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetes, allowing for better control of blood glucose. There’s evidence that Parkinson’s disease is also related to problems with insulin signaling.
4. Exenatide mimics the action of a hormone, and such drugs often show disease-modifying properties, said Christian Weyer, M.D., who was Amylin’s senior vice president of research and development. In chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s, finding disease-modifying therapies is the “Holy Grail,” Weyer said. “These are lifelong diseases, and anything you can do to either delay or prevent the onset of the disease, or to slow its progression over a long period of time” has great benefit, Weyer said.