The new weekly injection for Parkinson could replace the daily pill by millions, the study suggests

A new weekly injectable drug could transform the lives of more than eight million people living with Parkinson’s disease, potentially replacing the need for daily pills.

Scientists from the University of Southern Australia (UNISA) developed an injectable prolonged action formulation that provides two Parkinson’s key medications throughout a week.

There is currently no cure for Parkinson, which is the second most common neurological disorder, which affects more than one million Americans, according to the Parkinson Foundation.

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To control symptoms such as tremors, rigidity and slow movement, patients generally take daily oral medications, such as Levodopa and Carbidopa, according to the university press release.

This method can be especially difficult for people who have problems swallowing or cannot take pills consistently, which leads to irregular medications, higher side effects and greater effectiveness.

Levodopa is the “standard gold therapy for Parkinson”, according to the principal researcher, Professor Sanjay Garg in Unisa, but his brief useful life means that he must be taken several times a day.

The researchers tested an injectable gel implant that combines a biodegradable substance approved by the FDA with a pH -sensitive substance to achieve a controlled and sustained drug release.

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The gel is injected through a single shot under the skin or muscle tissue, which means that there is no need for surgical implant and discomfort is minimal, they said.

The team discovered that the gel gradually launched Parkinson’s key medications (90% of the Levodopa medicine and 81% of carbidopa) in the course of a week.

The findings were published in the magazine Drug Delivery and Translational Research.

“Reducing the frequency of dosing several times a day to a weekly injection is a big step forward in Parkinson’s therapy,” Garg said in the statement. “We are not only improving how the medicine is delivered; we are improving the lives of patients.”

Extensive laboratory tests confirmed the effectiveness and safety of the system.

“We are not only improving how the medicine is delivered; we are improving the lives of patients.”

The implant degraded in more than 80% in a week and did not show significant toxicity in cell viability tests.

“The implications of this research are deep,” Garg added.

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DEEPA NAKMODE, a doctoral student at the University of Southern Australia, said that this method is designed to release both levodopa and carbidopa constantly for a week, maintaining consistent plasma levels and reducing the risks associated with fluctuating drug concentrations.

“After years of focused research, it is incredibly gratifying to see our innovation in long -standing injectables for Parkinson’s disease reaching this stage,” he said in the statement.

The invention of the team has now been presented for an Australian patent, Nakmode added.

Technology could also be adapted for other chronic conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, chronic pain and infections that require long -term drug administration, according to Garg.

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The system can be adjusted to release medications for a period that varies from a few days to several weeks, depending on therapeutic needs.

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Scientists hope to start clinical trials in the near future and are exploring opportunities to make the gel commercially available.