Skip to main content
Log in

The short-term effect of nicotine chewing gum in patients with parkinson's disease

  • Rapid Communication
  • Published:
Psychopharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Because of the inverse association of cigarette smoking with the risk of Parkinson's disease, we performed a short-term, double-blind, randomized controlled trial of nicotine polacrilex resin gum in patients with this disease. Forty-eight subjects were randomly assigned to chew either nicotine gum or placebo gum three times at 2-h intervals, with evaluation of symptoms before and after the trial. The nicotine gum was reasonably well tolerated, but there were no substantial differences in Parkinson's disease symptoms between the two treatment groups.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Baron JA (1986) Cigarette smoking and Parkinson's disease. Neurology 36:1490–1496

    Google Scholar 

  • Behmand RA, Harik SI (1992) Nicotine enhances 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine neurotoxicity. J Neurochem 58:776–779

    Google Scholar 

  • Brogden RN, Speight TM, Avery GS (1971) Levadopa: a review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic uses with particular reference to parkinsonism. Drugs 2:262–400

    Google Scholar 

  • Carr LA, Basham JK, York BK, Rowell PP (1992) Inhibition of uptake of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion and dopamine in striatal synaptosomes by tobacco smoke components. Eur J Pharmacol 215:285–287

    Google Scholar 

  • Cotzias GC, Van Woert MH, Schiffer LM (1967) Aromatic amino acids and modification of parkinsonism. New Engl J Med 276:374–379

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagerström KO, Pomerlean O, Giordani B, Stelson F (1994) Nicotine may relieve symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Psychopharmacology 116:117–119

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahn S, Bressman SB (1984) Should levodopa therapy for parkinsonism be started early or late? Evidence against early treatment. Can J Neurol Sci 11:200–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Fehling C (1966) Treatment of Parkinson's syndrome with L-dopa: a double blind study. Acta Neurol Scand 42:367–372

    Google Scholar 

  • Fung YK, Fiske LA, Yuen-Sum L (1991) Chronic administration of nicotine fails to alter the MPTP-induced neurotoxicity in mice. Gen Pharmacol 22:669–672

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuxe K, Agnatic L, Eneroth P, Gustafsson J-Å, Hökfelt T, Löfström A, Skett B, Skett P (1977) The effect of nicotine on central catecholamine neurons and gonadotropin secretion. I. Studies in the male rat. Med Biol 55:148–157

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishikawa A, Miyatake T (1993) Effects of smoking in patients with early-onset Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Sci 117:28–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Janson AM, Fuxe K, Agnati LF, Kitayama I, Harfstrand A, Andersson K, Goldstein M (1988) Chronic nicotine treatment counteracts the disappearance of tyrosine-hydroxylase-immunoreactive nerve cell bodies, dendrites and terminals in the mesostriatal system of the male rat after partial hemitransection. Brain Res 455:332–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaakkola S (1981) Effect of nicotinic and muscarinic drugs on amphetamine- and apomorphine-induced circling behavior in rats. Acta Pharmacol Toxicol 48:162–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang AET, Fahn S (1989) Assessment of Parkinson's disease. In: Munsat TL (ed) Quantification of neurologic deficit. Butterworths, Boston, pp 285–309

    Google Scholar 

  • Lapin EP, Maker HS, Sershen H, Hurd Y, Lajtha A (1987) Dopamine-like action of nicotine: lack of tolerance and reverse tolerance. Brain Res 407:351–363

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichtensteiger W, Felix D, Hefti F, Schlumpf M (1979) Effects of nicotine on dompaminergic neurones of adult and prenatal mammals and of invertebrates. In: Remond A, Izard C (eds) Electrophysiological effects of nicotine. Elsevier/North-Holland, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall J, Schnieden H (1966) Effect of adrenaline, noradrenaline, atropine and nicotine on some types of human tremor. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 29:214–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Moll H (1926) The treatment of post-encephalitic parkinsonism by nicotine. BMJ 1:1079–1081

    Google Scholar 

  • Owman Ch, Fuxe K, Janson AM, Kahrstrom J (1989) Chronic nicotine treatment eliminates asymmetry in striatal glucose utilization following unilateral transection of the mesostriatal dopamine pathway in rats. Neurosci Lett 102:279–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry TL, Hansen S, Jones K (1987) Exposure to cigarette smoke does not decrease the neurotoxicity of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine in mice. Neurosci Lett 74:217–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Sershen H, Lajtha A (1979) Cerebral uptake of nicotine and of amino acids. J Neurosci Res 4:85–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Sershen H, Hashim A, Wiener HL, Lajtha A (1988) Effect of chronic oral nicotine on dopaminergic function in the MPTP-treated mouse. Neurosci Lett 93:270–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Shahi GS, Moochhala SM, Das NP (1990) The association between smoking and Parkinson's disease: new insights from studies using the mouse MPTP model. Eur J Pharmacol 183:1100–1101

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Clemens, P., Baron, J.A., Coffey, D. et al. The short-term effect of nicotine chewing gum in patients with parkinson's disease. Psychopharmacology 117, 253–256 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245195

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245195

Key words

Navigation