Thank you, Greg - but would you also consider
answering the question as it was asked, as if you
could only allocate your money toward these two
research areas: non-motor symptoms (including
dementia, which i forgot to specifically mention the
first time around) and dyskinesias.

and thank you for the Avigen information - very
exciting!

mackenzie

--- Greg Wasson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> (I tried to post this a couple of days ago, but I
> think I sent it into the ether - but if its a dupe,
> forgive me.)
>
> mackenzie,
>
> I would put my $10 million into research on the work
> being done by Avigen. They are using a gene therapy
> viral vector delivery system to repopulate the brain
> with the enzymes that convert levodopa to dopamine.
> These enzymes are lost along with the natural
> dopamine produced in our brains as the dopamine
> neurons die off. One of the problems with using
> Sinemet as a long-term medication is the onset of on
> -- off fluctuations and the appearance of dyskinesia
> after a few years of using this medication. The
> theory of the scientists at Avigen is that
> repopulation of the brain with the conversion
> enzymes will allow the brain to convert levodopa
> into dopamine as effectively as it did when a
> patient first started taking the drug. In other
> words, the loss of these enzymes causes the
> fluctuations and dyskinesia because conversion
> becomes haphazard as these enzymes continue to die
> off. In an extraordinary animal study using 35
> primates, an unusually large number, the
> effectiveness of this!
>   therapy
>  was remarkable, with all of the primates showing a
> substantial increase in their ability to convert
> levodopa to dopamine smoothly and without
> fluctuations or dyskinesia. According to the Avigen
> researcher in charge of this project, Dr. Alvin Luk,
> they believe that the enzymes will continue to
> successfully convert levodopa into dopamine for as
> long as 15 years.
>
> In other words, middle and late stage Parkinson's
> patients would be able to use this therapy to extend
> the effective life of their Sinemet for a decade or
> more, and the Sinemet would respond as effectively
> as it did when the patient first began carbidopa
> levodopa therapy. This would be a godsend to mid-and
> late stage patients and enable them to hold out for
> another decade or more with something approaching
> the quality of life they experienced when they first
> began carbidopa levodopa therapy. It would allow
> people who would otherwise be lost to this disease
> to hang on until a real therapy, one which
> effectively regresses the disease rather than simply
> masking and symptoms, can be found and reach the
> marketplace.
>
> Avigen has recently reported success with the first
> phase 1 human clinical trial being conducted using
> this therapy.
>
> So that's what I would do with my 10 million. It's a
> little selfish, because I've had PD for 10 years,
> but I think you could save a couple of generations
> of Parkinson's patients until the cavalry comes.
>
> Best,
>
> Greg Wasson
>
>
>
>
>
> mackenzie <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Thanks so much to everyone who has answered so far,
> and anyone else who has an opinion on the subject,
> please do send it on.
>
>
>
> "Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was
> never in the paper. He's not the finest character
> that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a
> terrible thing is happening to him. So attention
> must be paid...Attention, attention must finally be
> paid to such a person." - Arthur Miller - Death of a
> Salesman
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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