Thanks, Doug! Glial cells apparently arenurse cells producing factors such
as GDNF.  There is a recent article in nature (about a couple of weeks ago)
that astrocytes can do the same!
    I see a lot of opportunites to correct the defect, if whe find the right
way to do that.

----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2002 10:29 AM
Subject: Re: First you get PD then HIV.....


> Raj -
>
> The info that the NIH gave Gail is a bit sketchy, but I can think of
> a couple of reasons it could seem plausible:
>
> 1. I've been looking very hard at GDNF therapy, as my mom (age 68, dx 42)
> has been
> asked to think about trying it.  GDNF is a protein that is produced by the
> human
> body, but that can be manufactured by a special "designer" strain of
> bacteria then
> injected into the brain. In the research I've read, GDNF reactivates
> dormant
> dopamine-producing cells -- at least in monkeys.  This seems to be true in
> monkeys
> that have "old age" parkinsonism as well as monkeys with MPTP-induced
> parkinsonism.
> The researchers were able to VERY significantly reverse the parkinsonism
in
> both of
> these groups via GDNF, so it seems that even with severe parkinsonism
there
> may be
> enough cells still around to make a huge difference.  (You may also have
> seen the
> recent British study using humans -- though that's very preliminary.)  The
> researchers I've talked to are also talking about using a virus to implant
> a GDNF-
> making gene into cells in the human brain, so this may be what the NIH was
> talking
> about, rather than a dopamine-producing gene.
>
> 2. If the NIH WAS talking about a dopamine-producing gene, then it seems
> possible
> to me that ANY living cell could be programmed to make dopamine if it had
> the right
> gene in the right state (i.e. active), so even if the original dopamine
> cells were
> dead, other cells in the brain might be turned into dopamine-makers.
>
> Of course, I'm just a layman.  Any experts out there want to comment?
>
> FWIW
>
> - Doug
>
>
> > Date:    Wed, 22 May 2002 18:20:06 -0300
> > From:    Brightline <[log in to unmask]>
>
> > Hi! Gail:
> <snip>
> > According to some studies (Australian?), the cells not
> > only do not produce dopamine, but they also seem to die andare not
there!
> > I suppose one can injected the whole cell with implanted
> > dopamine producing genes.
>
> >> From: "Gail Vass" <[log in to unmask]>
> >> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>
> <snip>
>
> >> Yesterday the leading researchers said that they were using the
> >> "HIV virus delivery system". They remove the "bad stuff" from the
> >> HIV virus, inject the gene into the virus and then inject that into the
> >> Parkie to deliver the gene therapy ... that will get the dopamine
> >> producing cells that recently shut down to produce the needed
> >> dopamine again.
>
> <snip>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to:
mailto:[log in to unmask]
> In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn
>

----------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn