At present there is no test that doctors can use to test for Parkinson’s, but researchers in Japan say they have found a way to screen for the disease: cocaine eyedrops. Cocaine normally causes the pupils of the eyes to dilate. But people with Parkinson’s have lost many of the nerves in their brains that can be affected by the drug, so their eyes do not dilate as much when they are given it compared to people without the illness.
In a related story, researchers found that when they gave mice benztropine, a drug used to treat Parkinson’s, followed by cocaine, the mice did not exhibit the hyperactive behaviour associated with cocaine. The neuroscientists say they could possibly use benztropine as a therapy for cocaine addicts.
Source: MSN Health News
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