CURRENT SCIENCE REVIEWS  By Joe Bruman  April 2000  Page 1 of 2

Kew M; Lancet; 19 February 2000:591-592 (commentary):
Moderately elevated (120-500 U/L) serum concentrations of the
liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate
aminotransferase (AST) are the most used indicators of mild or
chronic damage by a virus, toxin, or drug. But ALT/AST levels
don't reliably indicate the degree of cumulative necrosis, which
on rare occasion may lead to fulminant (sudden) liver failure
[e.g., four cases in clinical trials of tolcapone (Tasmar)].

Schrag A et al; Lancet, 26 February 2000;754-755:
More letters exchange about prevalence of PSP and MSA (CSR JAN
00, MAR 00). Sorting these conditions from early PD is difficult
because clinical symptoms are imperfectly defined, and also
because cases are so rare that the ordinary general practitioner
is unlikely to become familiar with them.

Page W, Tanner C; Lancet, 4 March 2000:843:
Unlike the prior study of British WW II POWs (CSR JAN 00), a
similar study of American POWs shows higher prevalence of PD
reported as cause of death.

Lancet, 18 March 2000:991 (news item):
Comment on the pig cell transplant trial cited below: This and
the Science News article appear to stem from a news conference
by the Massachusetts firm Diacrin, who hope to market the
embryonic neural tissue if and when the procedure is approved.

Snow B et al; J Neur N'surg Psych 2000;68:313-316:
The discovery of parkinsonism caused by MPTP from a botched
batch of kitchen-brewed heroin was a unique windfall for PD
researchers, because it allows use of lab animals instead of
human subjects to test all kinds of drugs and other treatment.
Moreover, the original victims have been carefully followed and
studied. High resolution positron-emission tomography (PET) now
shows, however, that MPTP-induced parkinsonism is distinct from
idiopathic PD, so the study model is imperfect.

Sawle G; J Neur N'surg Psych 2000;68:276 (editorial):
Commentary and history on the item above.

Rivaud-Pechoux S et al; J Neur N'surg Psych 2000;68:381-384 :
Certain eye movements (saccades) are impaired in PD and not
improved by levodopa. But in 8 PD patients, bilateral stimulation
of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) reduced the impairment.

Goetz C et al; Neur 2000;54:710-714:
Authors examined 105 early-stage PD patients in the placebo group
of a controlled trial of ropinirole (Requip) and found that 16%
of them experienced objective improvement of PD symptoms.

Benarroch E et al; Neur 2000;54:963-968:
Autonomic failure, mainly orthostatic hypotension, in patients
with multiple system atrophy (MSA) is accompanied by loss of
certain neurons in part of the medulla; but in PD patients with
similar autonomic failure, that is not the case.

CURRENT SCIENCE REVIEWS  By Joe Bruman  April 1999  Page 2 of 2

Schumacher J et al; Neur 2000;54:1042-1050:
To test safety and efficacy of unilateral embryonic pig cell
transplants in PD patients, they followed 12 recipients for a
year. They found variable but general improvement in symptoms,
no porcine retrovirus and no serious adverse effects.

Schmand B et al; Neur 2000;54:1058-1064:
In a controlled neuropsychological study of 35 PD patients
receiving unilateral pallidotomy, they found no significant
effects upon cognition or behavior.

Science News, 18 Mar 2000:180(news item):
Unlike other neurons of the adult central nervous system,
olfactory cells can regenerate naturally, thanks apparently to
protection by special cells called olfactory ensheathing glia.
Spanish researchers cut the spinal cords of lab rats, then
injected those glial cells at the severed ends, which then
regrew enough connections to restore hindquarters mobility.

Science News, 25 Mar 2000;197(news item):
Some details about the pig cell transplant trial cited above:
In this first trial to establish safety, a relatively small
amount of tissue was used. Nevertheless, symptom improvement
was "dramatic" in 3 of the 10 advanced-PD subjects, moderate
in 3 others, while the remaining 4 were unchanged. A new study
with 18 subjects, using 4 times the former amount of tissue,
includes a control group getting sham transplants (at first).

Jankovic J et al; Arch Neur 2000;57:369-372:
In a followup as long as 12 years of 800 early-PD subjects of
the original Deprenyl And Tocopherol As Treatment Of
Parkinson's (DATATOP) study, they found that original
investigators had altered their diagnosis in only 65 cases.

Henderson J et al; Ann Neur 2000;47:345-352:
Although degeneration of dopaminergic feedback from the
substantia nigra to the corpus striatum is a defining
feature of PD, glutamatergic inputs to the striatum from the
cerebral cortex and a part of the thalamus* are more important.
Postmortem study of 9 patients and 8 controls showed significant
neural degeneration of that region as well, and since it is
important in movement control, PD symptoms may be worsened.
(*: "centre median-parafascicular complex")

Di Maria E et al; Ann Neur 2000;15:374-377:
As well as several clinical features, corticobasal degeneration
(CBD, formerly CBGD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) are
found to share certain anomalies of the tau protein gene.

Ramaker C et al; Mov Disord 2000;15:55-64
To assess the value of bromocriptine (Parlodel) as adjunct
therapy for levodopa-induced motor complications of PD, they
reviewed 8 different reports of controlled trials conducted
between 1966 and 1999, but complain that the generally poor
trial methodology prevents any important conclusions.
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J. R. Bruman   (818) 789-3694
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