Hypoestoxide

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disease characterized by resting tremors, limb stiffness, impaired balance, and slow movement. There is no known cure for PD although levo-3,4 dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) and dopamine agonists are effective for improving PD symptoms in the early years following diagnosis. Hypoestes rosea is an evergreen shrub which has anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antimalarial properties. Recent studies showed that the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of Hypoestes rosea, Hypoestoxide, was effective in modifying disease progression in a transgenic mouse model of PD.
The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of Hypoestoxide, as contained in Hypoestes rosea dry leaf powder, in improving motor symptoms in consenting PD patients. The study design is a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial involving 30 patients with mild to moderate disease (Stages 1-3 of Hoehn and Yahr scale over an 8-week period. The symptoms of the participants will be monitored using mobile phones with an established quantitative assessment tool, mPower2.0, which was previously developed for monitoring symptoms and disease progression in PD patients. In addition, the motor examination component of the International Movement Disorders Society scale will be administered and correlated with the finding on the mobile phone. The outcome measure is an improvement in the motor variables of the study participants with a 10% change from baseline over the 8 weeks of using Hypoestes.