A new study has found that a compound created by the body’s breakdown of a cancer drug has therapeutic properties. When combined with the original drug, the by-product produced a synergistic effect to inhibit prostate cancer cells; when used alone, it reduced the buildup of a toxic protein in the brain associated with Parkinson’s disease.

After medications are consumed, they’re absorbed and distributed around the body. When they’ve produced their therapeutic effect, they’re broken down – metabolized – by various organs into by-products called metabolites, compounds that are more easily eliminated from the body.

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The potential therapeutic effects of drug metabolites are often overlooked, even though they are present at high concentrations in the plasma and can be pharmacologically active. However, a new study by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has found that a metabolite produced by the breakdown of a cancer drug may have value as a therapeutic agent in its own right.

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