Study: Nicotine Eases Symptoms of Parkinson's

Nicotine may ease the often-debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease, according to a study released Wednesday.

Monkeys given a nicotine-laced drink before drug treatment for Parkinson's showed a 50 percent reduction in movements associated with the treatment, according to researchers from the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, California. The animals showed a 35 percent drop in the uncontrollable movements, known as dyskinesias, when given the drink after treatments.

The findings will be published in the Annals of Neurology.

Click here to read The Daily Telegraph story

Parkinson's disease, which affects more than one million patients in the United States, is marked by the death of brain cells that produce dopamine.