Parkinson’s disease is a serious brain condition that affects how people move. It can cause shaking, stiff muscles, and problems with balance. Over time, these problems get worse, making it harder to walk, talk, or do daily activities.
Now, scientists at Queen Mary University of London have found something surprising. They discovered that some drugs used to treat epilepsy might be linked to a higher chance of getting Parkinson’s disease. These are called antiepileptic drugs, and they help control seizures by calming unusual activity in the brain.
The researchers looked at health records of 1,433 people who had Parkinson’s disease. Then, they compared these records with 8,598 people who didn’t have the disease. They wanted to see if the people with Parkinson’s were more likely to have taken antiepileptic drugs before getting sick.
They studied several common seizure medications: carbamazepine, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, and sodium valproate. These drugs are often given to people with epilepsy to help prevent seizures.
The results showed something important. People who had taken these epilepsy drugs were more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who hadn’t. And the more drugs they took—or the more often they took them—the higher the risk seemed to be.
This means that people who took many doses or more than one type of epilepsy drug had an even higher chance of getting Parkinson’s.
This is the first time scientists have looked at several different epilepsy drugs in this way. The study doesn’t prove that these drugs cause Parkinson’s disease, but it does show a strong link that needs more research.
These findings are important for doctors. When giving out epilepsy medicine, they might need to think more carefully, especially for patients who might already be at risk for Parkinson’s disease. It might also encourage doctors and researchers to look for safer treatments.
Even though this news may seem worrying, it also offers hope. If scientists can understand how these epilepsy drugs are connected to Parkinson’s disease, they might discover new ways to prevent or treat it.
This study was led by researcher Daniel Belete and was published in the journal JAMA Neurology. It marks the beginning of more research into how seizure medications may affect long-term brain health.
For now, patients taking these drugs should not stop them without talking to their doctors. More studies are needed to fully understand the risks, but this research is a big step in the right direction.
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 health information, please see recent studies about how wheat gluten might be influencing our brain health, and Olive oil: a daily dose for better brain health..
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