A diabetes drug could be a breakthrough treatment for stopping Parkinson’s disease in its tracks, a study suggests.

People with Parkinson’s who took Exenatide – an existing diabetes medication – for around a year had better motor skills than those who took a placebo.

The results suggest the drug could halt decline in Parkinson’s patients rather than just relieving symptoms.

Experts welcomed the University College London (UCL) research as a ‘particularly promising’ step in the search for a treatment to slow or stop the disease.

The drug is modelled on the saliva of the Gila monster lizard and has been used since 2005 to treat Type 2 diabetes.

The research is published in The Lancet on Friday and was funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF).