CINCINNATI: Quest For A Cure: UC's Parkinson's Center Enters Race For Grants, Jobs -- And Answers
Andrea Tortora
Courier Staff Reporter

From the March 26, 2004 print edition

A neurologist and a chemical researcher are furiously at work to treat and cure Parkinson's disease.

And while they're at it, Dr. Fredy Revilla and Professor Kim Seroogy are fueling what could become a powerful
biotechnology economic engine in Cincinnati.

The two colleagues, who both moved to the Tri-State in the past 13 months, are heading up the Parkinson's Center, a new
division of the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati and University Hospital.

"We want to blend the basic research with clinical applications," said Revilla. He is a neurologist who came to
Cincinnati in July from Washington University in St. Louis, recognized by the American Parkinson Disease Association as
an advanced center for Parkinson's research and education.

Revilla and Seroogy's goal is to help the more than 1.4 million patients -- up to 2,000 of whom live in Greater
Cincinnati -- who suffer from Parkinson's.

"It takes their life away," said Stacey Walsh, an occupational therapist who works with the American Parkinson Disease
Association's Cincinnati chapter. "Among the Parkinson's population, there is a lot of anticipation on having more
access to new drugs and more opportunities to participate in studies."

In studying Parkinson's, the new UC Parkinson's Center promises to bring as much as $16 million in research funds and
create dozens of immediate jobs, said Dr. John Tew, medical director of The Neuroscience Institute.

And if the center succeeds, more jobs could follow as more companies supporting such research locate in Cincinnati,
said Carol Frankenstein, president of Bio/Start, a biomedical incubator housed at UC.
Elusive answers

Revilla and Seroogy don't spend much time thinking about the economics of their work. Their concern is finding a cure
quickly for Parkinson's.

The disease occurs when brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine die off. The loss of dopamine affects the body's
ability to coordinate movement, leaving many early-stage sufferers with tremors or frozen facial muscles. In later
stages, Parkinson's can lead to loss of muscle control and dementia.

Revilla and Seroogy's approach is twofold. One step is to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's with surgical deep brain
stimulation. Another is to study a chemical protein that appears to keep alive the dopamine-producing cells that die
off when Parkinson's hits.

The pair's dream is to marry the two technologies so the protein can be delivered to areas of damaged cells deep in the
brain. This would stop more cell death and renew the ability to make dopamine.

The chance to test the protein in humans is about five years away, Seroogy said.

Revilla and Seroogy are exploring techniques tried before but which are now better understood. For Revilla, the chance
to partner with a basic science researcher such as Seroogy is key.

"It opens up a great number of windows to find a cure," he said.

While Seroogy tests the protein growth factor called neuregulin in rats, Revilla works with human patients on clinical
trials, studies of gait and balance, and deep brain stimulation.

The stimulation procedure implants two thin wire electrodes deep on each side of the brain, in the areas that control
movement. A connecting wire runs under the skin to pacemaker-like stimulators implanted near the collarbone. These
units emit electrical pulses that block the abnormal signals created by Parkinson's.

Revilla is an expert at pinpointing the best spot for the electrodes.

"The idea is to push the research on the deep brain and on gait and balance," Revilla said.

The surgical procedure restores function to patients. But the dopamine-producing cells still die. What Seroogy studies
would stop cell death and restore the damaged cells.

"The exact pathway (for dopamine) in the brain is known," Seroogy said. "Repairing it is what is daunting."

Seroogy came to UC in February from the University of Kentucky, a federally funded Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence
for Parkinson's Disease Research.

By treating rat brain cells with neuregulin before and after inducing damage, Seroogy found the substance enhances the
health and survival of cells affected by Parkinson's.

In humans, the neuregulin would be pumped along the same pathways followed by the electrodes used in deep brain
stimulation. Tests with a different growth factor are under way in Europe, and with promising results.
Race is on

The clock is ticking to find a treatment.

Parkinson's disease costs the country $25 billion a year in health care, disability and loss of productivity, and
officials expect that cost to grow as the baby boom generation ages.

Tew said the Cincinnati Parkinson's Center is still ramping up. Come April 1, neurosurgeon Dr. George Mandybur will
join the group, "completing the triad."

Mandybur, who comes from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, is a specialist in deep brain stimulation. He
will be affiliated with the Mayfield Clinic, and he will bring clinical trial nurses and other experts with him, Tew
said.

Tew hopes the center will hit the $5 million funding mark soon. A $1 million gift from Saul Schottenstein, in honor of
his sister, established the Selma Schottenstein Harris Laboratory for Research in Parkinson's Disease. Seroogy directs
this lab.

Seroogy also has $1 million from the National Institutes of Health and $500,000 from the Department of Defense. And
Revilla is funded mostly by UC, to the tune of $1 million.

Tew said he expects the Parkinson's Center to grow as pharmaceutical companies and medical device companies demand more
studies.

"They need the teams to do the testing of new drugs and devices," Tew said.

And with Revilla, Seroogy and Mandybur in place, the Parkinson's Center will be a fierce competitor for that research
business. Revilla, who specializes in movement disorders, already has renewed the Cincinnati deep brain stimulation
surgery team.

But there are dozens of American centers conducting Parkinson's research and seeking funding for their work.

What gives Cincinnati the edge is its connection to the Neuroscience Institute and all the other medical research
taking place at UC and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Frankenstein said.

"There are true business reasons for them to be here," she said. "The strength Cincinnati has in neuroscience is at an
international level."

SOURCE: Cincinnati Business Courier, OH
http://tinyurl.com/yrkju

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