Neurologists have reacted differently to the study results of rasagiline (Azilect), a new drug said to be able to stop the progression of Parkinson's disease.

Approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006 based on studies that showed it to reduce trembling and slowed motion, all symptoms of Parkinson, the new study reported in the September issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, was for determining whether the drug also acted on the underlying nerve deterioration causing the disease.

Study author Dr. C. Warren Olanow, Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City said they hoped for neuro-protection.

Enlisting 1,176-people with previously untreated Parkinson's disease from medical centres worldwide, half were given 1 or 2-milligrams daily doses of rasagiline for 36-weeks, with the other half taking placebos. At the end of the initial 36-weeks, all study participants took 1 or 2-milligrams of rasagiline for another 36 weeks.

Measuring the treatment effects, researchers found participants who had taken 1-milligram doses showed an apparent improvement, not visible in those who took 2-milligram doses.

While, rasagiline has been found to provide benefits in reducing symptoms of early Parkinson's disease, patients must not have their hopes raised as the study does not convince that the drug offers neuro-protection.

Parkinson's Disease is a degenerative neurological condition affecting over a million Americans, which in its early stages is associated with impaired motor skills including tremor, stiffness, and slowness of movement. As it progresses, impairments become more severe, including gait disturbance, falling and dementia.

Rasagiline marketed by Teva Pharmaceuticals as Azilect® in the United States, was approved by the FDA in May 2006 for treating the signs and symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson's as initial monotherapy and as adjunct therapy to levodopa.