Azilect and Parkinson's

What is Azilect? Azilect is a PD drug made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. It is Teva's version of a rasagiline compound. It is classified as a monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) inhibitor and it is touted as a drug that may slow down the progression of early stage Parkinson's. Now you may ask, "What the heck is monoamine oxidase-B and what does it have to do with PD?" And here is the answer.

Monoamine oxidase is an enzyme that comes in 2 forms, MAO-A and MAO-B. MAO-B is far more prevalent in the body and is responsible for the breakdown of dopamine in the synapses in your brain. Essentially, dopamine is secreted from neurons into the synapse (space between neurons). The dopamine is then picked up by dopamine receptors on other "receiving" neurons. In patients with PD the amount of dopamine released into the synapses is significantly decreased as the number of dopamine-releasing neurons is drastically reduced. MAO-B is the enzyme responsible for burning up "extra" dopamine in the synapses.

Azilect works by inhibiting the production of MAO-B in the brain. By decreasing the amount of MAO-B in the synapses the rate that dopamine is burned, or metabolized, is reduced. This reduction allows for more dopamine to remain in the synapses longer and to then bind to the dopamine receptors on other neurons. The overall effect is to increase the amount of "effective" dopamine in the brain. By increasing the amount of dopamine that binds to neurons the PD symptoms are lessened.

Azilect is currently being widely touted as a drug that may slow the progression of Parkinson's Disease. Researchers are also suggesting that this may be a good drug to use in early PD before symptoms become too debilitating without medication. Now, I researched this topic on the Internet extensively and I have seen both sides of this issue discussed. Some researchers are of the mind that this drug will truly slow the progression of the disease. Others are of the opinion that it is another possible drug in the arsenal for movement disorder specialists, but that slowing the progression is over stating the drug's potential. I am not a doctor or a medical scientist so I will not weigh in on my thoughts on this debate. I do think that it is great that researchers are looking for ways to slow the progression significantly.

If you want more information about Azilect here are several websites that I found useful. Of course always discuss any medications with your doctor.

http://www.azilect.com/
http://www.drugs.com/azilect.html