Clinical study to investigate the adjuvant role of Pentoxifylline in patients with Parkinson's disease: A randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the par's compacta of the substantia nigra. A lot of studies have since been carried out on the neuroinflammation linked to the pathophysiology of PD, including elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Preclinical studies proved the efficacy of pentoxifylline (PTX) in PD.

AIM: To assess the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of PTX in patients with PD.

METHODS

Sixtytwo Patients were randomly assigned to two groups (n1 = 30, and n2 = 32); the PTX group received conventional treatment for Parkinson's disease, levodopa/carbidopa, plus PTX 400 mg twice daily, whereas the control group received conventional treatment only. Every patient was assessed by a neurologist both at the start of treatment and six months thereafter. Every patient is evaluated using the Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS). Adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK), reduced glutathione (GSH), high mobility group box protein (HMGB1), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) were measured both before and after therapy. The statistical analysis within and between groups was evaluated using direct and indirect t-tests, respectively.

RESULTS

The PTX group revealed a statistically significant decrease in the level of assessed variables as followed: mTOR (p = 0.037), HMGB-1 (p = 0.029), and a significant increase in GSH (p = 0.016) and AMPK (p = 0.027), when compared to the control group. Additionally, the PTX group had a significantly reduced UPDRS. (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

PTX may be suggested as a promising adjuvant anti-inflammatory medication for Parkinson's disease treatment.

CLINICAL TRIAL IDENTIFIER: NCT05962957.