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Folinic acid

People with certain forms of early-onset Parkinson’s disease could potentially benefit from taking a medication used to treat certain forms of cancer, according to new research by University of Leicester scientists and funded by the Medical Research Council. The study suggests that folinic acid, used in medications to treat bowel cancer, can also protect neurons associated with Parkinson’s disease in fruit flies.

Dr Miguel Martins, MRC Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester explained: “Parkinson’s disease is a disabling disorder for which no cure is yet available; further, after dopaminergic neurons are lost, only a few palliative treatment options for Parkinson’s symptoms are available...

Folinic acid

Prescription doses of folinic acid, which is a reduced form of a B vitamin known as folate, could help improve the language and communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These are the preliminary findings from a placebo-controlled trial in which children were randomized to receive either high-dose folinic acid or a placebo, says lead author Richard Frye of Arkansas Children’s Research Institute in the US. The study also identified a specific blood marker that can be used to predict which patients have the best chance to respond to the treatment.

Up to 2% of American children are said to experience symptoms that place them on the autism spectrum...