- A U.S. study suggests nicotine treatment protects against the same
type of brain damage that occurs in Parkinson's disease.
Researchers at The Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, Calif., used
laboratory animals treated with MPTP, an agent that produces a gradual
loss of brain function characteristic of Parkinson's.

Experimental animals receiving chronic administration of nicotine over
a period of six months had 25 percent less damage from the MPTP
treatment than those not receiving nicotine, according to the study in
the Journal of Neurochemistry.

This protective effect may explain the lower incidence of Parkinson's
disease among smokers, according to the researchers.

The results also suggest that nicotine may be useful as a potential
therapy in the treatment of early-stage Parkinson's patients.


Aug. 8, 2006(United Press International)