A drug from Novartis AG intended to treat leukemia was found to be effective in reversing symptoms of Parkinson's disease based on a preliminary clinical trial.

The trial was conducted by researchers at the Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) and involved the drug nilotinib (Tasigna).

According to the press release, Dr. Charbel Moussa of the university's Laboratory of Dementia and Parkinsonism made the initial discovery that nilotinib can manage neurodegenerative disorders.

Moussa then collaborated with GUMC's associate professor of neurology, Dr. Fernando Pagan to perform the clinical trial.

Twelve patients were part of the study that ran for six months. They were given large doses of nilotinib, from 150 to 300 milligrams.

Over the course of the trial, researchers observed that the participants regained their cognitive, motor, and non-motor functions.

Dr. Fernando Pagan, one of the authors of the study, said in a press release that the effect was most pronounced among patients who are in the early stages of the disease.

In the study, nilotinib was administered in doses smaller than when the drug is used to treat cancer.

Such doses helped reduce the buildup of toxic proteins in the brain, which causes the disruption of normal brain function in patients with both Parkinson's and dementia.

The patients can still continue taking the drug as part of an expanded clinical study. The results might show promise, but Pagan noted that the study didn't have a control group and there was no placebo drug or other Parkinson's or dementia drug used to compare the effects of nilotinib with.

Pagan also said that larger clinical trials are needed in order to establish their findings and they will most likely begin next year.

The study results were presented last Saturday at the 2015 Society for Neuroscience meeting, which runs from Oct. 17 to 21 in Chicago.