⚡ Quick Summary
A recent study has identified amphetamine as a potential therapeutic candidate for reducing the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD). Utilizing a combination of artificial intelligence and clinical data, researchers found a significant reduction in the hazard of PD among patients prescribed amphetamine compared to those who were not.
🔍 Key Details
- 📊 Dataset: Large electronic health record database of deidentified patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- 🧩 Key Findings: Amphetamine showed a reduced hazard of developing PD
- ⚙️ Technology: Knowledge graph artificial intelligence prediction system
- 🏆 Hazard Ratios: 0.59 (2 years), 0.63 (4 years), 0.55 (6 years)
🔑 Key Takeaways
- 💡 Drug repurposing can uncover existing therapeutics for new indications, such as PD.
- 🤖 AI technology was instrumental in identifying amphetamine as a candidate for PD prevention.
- 📉 Significant reduction in PD risk was observed in patients prescribed amphetamine over time.
- 🔬 Pathway enrichment analysis confirmed amphetamine’s targeting of biochemical processes related to PD.
- ⚖️ Legal amphetamine use may have protective effects against PD, contrasting with recreational use findings.
- 🌍 Study published in PLoS One, highlighting the integration of AI in clinical research.
- 🆔 PMID: 40392924.
📚 Background
Parkinson’s disease is a prevalent neurological condition characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. Currently, treatment options focus on symptom management rather than prevention. The concept of drug repurposing offers a promising avenue for discovering new uses for existing medications, particularly for conditions like PD that lack curative therapies.
🗒️ Study
The study utilized a knowledge graph artificial intelligence prediction system to identify potential drugs for PD. Amphetamine emerged as the strongest candidate. Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort analysis using a large electronic health record database of patients diagnosed with ADHD, the primary condition for which amphetamine is prescribed.
📈 Results
The analysis revealed a significantly reduced hazard of developing PD in patients prescribed amphetamine compared to those who were not. The hazard ratios were 0.59 at 2 years, 0.63 at 4 years, and 0.55 at 6 years, indicating a consistent protective effect over time. Additionally, pathway enrichment analysis confirmed that amphetamine interacts with biochemical processes implicated in PD, such as dopaminergic synapses and neurodegeneration.
🌍 Impact and Implications
These findings suggest that therapeutic use of amphetamine may offer a novel approach to reducing the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. This contrasts with previous studies that indicated a potential risk associated with recreational use. The integration of artificial intelligence in drug discovery and clinical corroboration could pave the way for innovative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
🔮 Conclusion
This study highlights the potential of amphetamine as a preventative measure against Parkinson’s disease, showcasing the power of artificial intelligence in clinical research. As we continue to explore drug repurposing, there is hope for new therapeutic strategies that could significantly impact patient outcomes. Further research is warranted to validate these findings and explore the mechanisms behind amphetamine’s protective effects.
💬 Your comments
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Amphetamine use and Parkinson’s disease: integration of artificial intelligence prediction, clinical corroboration, and mechanism of action analyses.
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an increasingly prevalent neurologic condition for which symptomatic, but not preventative, treatment is available. Drug repurposing is an innovate drug discovery method that uncovers existing therapeutics to treat or prevent conditions for which they are not currently indicated, a method that could be applied to incurable diseases such as PD. A knowledge graph artificial intelligence prediction system was used to select potential drugs that could be used to treat or prevent PD, and amphetamine was identified as the strongest candidate. Retrospective cohort analysis on a large, electronic health record database of deidentified patients with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (the main diagnosis for which amphetamine is prescribed) revealed a significantly reduced hazard of developing PD in patients prescribed amphetamine versus patients not prescribed amphetamine at 2, 4, and 6 years: Hazard Ratio (95% Confidence Interval) = 0.59 (0.36, 0.98), 0.63 (0.42, 0.93), and 0.55 (0.38, 0.79). Pathway enrichment analysis confirmed that amphetamine targets many of the biochemical processes implicated in PD, such as dopaminergic synapses and neurodegeneration. Together, these observational findings suggest that therapeutic and legal amphetamine use may reduce the risk of developing PD, in contrast to previous work that found the inverse relationship in patients using amphetamine recreationally.
Author: [‘Gorenflo MP’, ‘Gao Z’, ‘Davis PB’, ‘Kaelber D’, ‘Xu R’]
Journal: PLoS One
Citation: Gorenflo MP, et al. Amphetamine use and Parkinson’s disease: integration of artificial intelligence prediction, clinical corroboration, and mechanism of action analyses. Amphetamine use and Parkinson’s disease: integration of artificial intelligence prediction, clinical corroboration, and mechanism of action analyses. 2025; 20:e0323761. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323761