People with Parkinson’s disease may soon be able to manage their symptoms with a simple weekly injection instead of taking pills several times a day.
This new approach comes from researchers at the University of South Australia (UniSA), who have developed an injectable gel that slowly releases Parkinson’s medication into the body over the course of a week.
Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that affects movement.
It causes symptoms like shaking, stiffness, and difficulty walking. More than 8.5 million people around the world live with this condition. Right now, there is no cure.
The main treatment involves taking medicine like levodopa and carbidopa, which help manage symptoms.
But these drugs don’t stay in the body for long, so patients need to take them several times a day. This can be hard, especially for older people or those who have trouble swallowing pills.
The new injection aims to make treatment easier and more effective. It works by slowly releasing levodopa and carbidopa over seven days. This means people would only need one injection each week instead of many pills each day.
The injectable gel is made of safe, biodegradable materials that dissolve in the body. It’s given under the skin or into muscle with a thin needle, so no surgery is needed. Once injected, the gel slowly breaks down and steadily releases the medication.
Lab tests showed that over 90% of levodopa and 81% of carbidopa were released over the week. The gel itself mostly dissolved within that time and did not harm surrounding cells.
The project is led by Professor Sanjay Garg from UniSA’s Centre for Pharmaceutical Innovation. He explains that the goal is to make life better for people with Parkinson’s by giving them a simpler and more reliable way to take their medicine.
The lead developer, PhD student Deepa Nakmode, says it’s exciting to see their years of research turning into something that could help people. Their invention has been submitted for an Australian patent.
This new injection could also have broader benefits. The same technology might be used to treat other long-term conditions like cancer, diabetes, and chronic pain.
The injection system can be adjusted to release drugs over different time periods, from a few days to several weeks, depending on what the patient needs.
So far, the research has only been done in the lab. But the UniSA team is planning to move forward with clinical trials and is looking into how to bring this treatment to the public.
This innovation could change the way Parkinson’s is treated. By making it easier for people to manage their symptoms with fewer doses, it can improve their quality of life and help them stick to their treatment plans.
If you care about Parkinson’s disease, please read studies that Vitamin B may slow down cognitive decline, and Mediterranean diet could help lower risk of Parkinson’s.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that blueberry supplements may prevent cognitive decline, and results showing Plant-based diets could protect cognitive health from air pollution.
The study is published in Drug Delivery and Translational Research.
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