Blood Pressure Drug Could Prevent Parkinson’s Disease

HealthDay News reported that people taking calcium channel blockers to control high blood pressure may find the regimen has a added benefit. Researchers say long-term use of the drugs also might cut the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

The findings are far from definitive and not yet ready for prime-time medical practice at this point.”There are not necessarily direct clinical implications, but the data support previous hypotheses that calcium channel blockers may have neuroprotective effects,” said study senior author Christoph R. Meier, a clinical pharmacologist with University Hospital Basel, in Switzerland. “This may stimulate additional clinical and mainly basic research in this area.” The findings were published in the Feb. 6 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Read the entire article at health.usnews.com.