hi paul, sorry to say there seems to be no straight-forward answer. having 
read about the initial success with mice i asked my husband's neurologist 
who is head of the movement disorder clinic at DUKE what he thought the time 
line would be and, low and behold, he had not even heard of this research 
going on at his institution. i was dumbfounded. sometimes i wonder if there 
ever will be actual progress made.
trauti
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, June 05, 2009 8:36 PM
Subject: Re: Spinal Cord Stimulator Sparks Hope For Parkinson's Disease 
Treatment


> And I'll ask more or less the same question I asked a month ago. When is
> the next step to be taken? I guess I just don't understand the world (and
> maybe  the rules or mores) of scientific research. Will someone start
> investigating the  process with humans only if there is profit on the 
> horizon? Sure
> doesn't  fit my type A personality! Why doesn't a PD Organization fund it. 
> Or
> maybe Ali  or Fox if their Foundations can afford it. If I could afford it
> I would! It is  so stupidly frustrating to keep reading about mice without 
> a
> concrete time line  reference to humans. And if Apes come first, then GET
> STARTED.  If there  were to be a call for Clinical Trial volunteers the 
> line
> would probably stretch  from here to Natal Brazil.
>
> Paul H. Lauer
>
>
> In a message dated 6/4/2009 2:00:24 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> thanks  for the video, John.  I posted this news about a month  ago.
> Ray
>
> Rayilyn Brown
> Director AZNPF
> Arizona Chapter National  Parkinson  Foundation
> [log in to unmask]
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From:  "John Cottingham"
> <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent:  Wednesday, June 03, 2009 12:07 AM
> To:  <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Spinal Cord Stimulator  Sparks Hope For Parkinson's Disease
> Treatment
>
>> New research of  stimulation of the spinal cord instead of the brain
> shows
>> promise of  countering movement disorders associated with Parkinson's
>>  disease.
>>
>> Video from Duke University shows what has been  accomplished. That video
> is
>> on the PIENO maillist page  at:
>>
>>  http://parkinsons-information-exchange-network-online.com/maillist.html
>>
>>  Perhaps annual additions to the "Hole in the Head Gang" won't be
> necessary
>> if this proves to be a viable non-invasive treatment.
>>
>>  John Cottingham
>>
>>
>>
>>>Novel Spinal Cord  Stimulator Sparks Hope For Parkinson's Disease
> Treatment
>>>
>>>ScienceDaily (Mar. 21, 2009) &shy; A novel  stimulation method, the first
>>>potential therapy to target the  spinal cord instead of the brain, may
>>>offer an effective and less  invasive approach for Parkinson's disease
>>>treatment, according to  pre-clinical data published in the journal
> Science
>>>by researchers  at Duke University Medical Center.
>>>
>>>Researchers  developed a prosthetic device that applies electrical
>>>stimulation  to the dorsal column in the spinal cord, which is a main
>>>sensory  pathway carrying tactile information from the body to the brain.
>
>>>The device was attached to the surface of the spinal cord in mice  and
> rats
>>>with depleted levels of the chemical dopamine - mimicking  the biologic
>>>characteristics of someone with Parkinson's disease  along with the
>>>impaired motor skills seen in advanced stages of  the disease.
>>>
>>>When the device was turned on, the  dopamine-depleted animals' slow,
> stiff
>>>movements were replaced  with the active behaviors of healthy mice and
>>>rats. Improved  movement was typically observed within 3.35 seconds after
>
>>>stimulation.
>>>
>>>"We see an almost immediate  and dramatic change in the animal's ability
> to
>>>function when the  device stimulates the spinal cord," says senior study
>>>investigator  Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., Ph.D., the Anne W. Deane Professor
> of
>>>Neuroscience at Duke. "Moreover, it is easy to use, significantly  less
>>>invasive than other alternatives to medication, such as deep  brain
>>>stimulation, and has the potential for widespread use in  conjunction
> with
>>>medications typically used to treat Parkinson's  disease."
>>>
>>>Researchers tested mice and rats with acute  and chronic dopamine deficit
>>>using varying levels of electrical  stimulation and in combination with
>>>different doses of dopamine  replacement therapy, also known as
>>>3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine  or L-DOPA, to determine the most effective
>
>>>pairing.
>>>
>>>When the device was used without  additional medication, Parkinsonian
>>>animals were 26 times more  active. When stimulation was coupled with
>>>medication, only two  L-DOPA doses were needed to produce movement
> compared
>>>to five  doses when the medication was used by itself.
>>>
>>>"This  work addresses an important need because people living with
>>>Parkinson's disease face a difficult reality - L-Dopa will  eventually
> stop
>>>managing the symptoms," explains Romulo Fuentes, a  postdoctoral fellow
> at
>>>Duke University and lead author of the  study. "Patients are left with
> few
>>>options for treatment,  including electrical stimulation of the brain,
>>>which is  appropriate for only a subset of patients."
>>>
>>>While deep  brain stimulation (DBS) and other experimental treatments
>>>attack  the disease at its origin - in the brain - Nicolelis and team
> took
>>>a different approach. The concept for the device began when  researchers
>>>made a surprising connection with another neurological  condition.
>>>
>>>"It was a moment of sudden insight,"  explains Nicolelis. "We were
>>>analyzing the brain activity of mice  with Parkinson's disease and
> suddenly
>>>it reminded me of some  research I'd done in the epilepsy field a decade
>>>earlier. The  ideas began to flow from there."
>>>
>>>The rhythmic brain  activity in the animals with Parkinson's disease
>>>resembled the  mild, continuous, low-frequency seizures that are seen in
>>>those  with epilepsy. One effective therapy for treating epilepsy inv
> olves
>>>stimulating the peripheral nerves, which facilitate communication
> between
>>>the spinal cord and the body. Researchers took that  concept and
> developed
>>>a modified approach for a Parkinson's  disease model.
>>>
>>>Nicolelis says that the low frequency  seizures, or oscillations, seen in
>>>the animal model of Parkinson's  disease have been observed in humans
> with
>>>the condition.  Stimulating the dorsal column of the spinal cord reduces
>>>these  oscillations, which researchers believe creates the ability to
>>>produce motor function.
>>>
>>>In a healthy body,  neurons fire at varying rates as information is
>>>transmitted  between the brain and the body to initiate normal movement.
>>>This  process breaks down in someone with Parkinson's  disease.
>>>
>>>"Our device works as an interface with the  brain to produce a neural
> state
>>>permissive for locomotion,  facilitating immediate and dramatic recovery
> of
>>>movement," says  Per Petersson, co-author of the study. "Following
>>>stimulation, the  neurons desynchronize, similar to the firing pattern
> that
>>>you  would see when a healthy mouse is continuously  moving."
>>>
>>>Nicolelis says that if the device is proven  safe and effective through
>>>further research, he imagines it  mirroring similar spinal cord
> stimulator
>>>technology currently used  to treat chronic pain. Small leads are
> implanted
>>>over the spinal  cord and then connected to a portable generator, a small
>>>device  capable of producing mild electrical currents. During the trial
>>>period, the generator is external, while for permanent treatment  it
> would
>>>be implanted below the skin.
>>>
>>>"If  we can demonstrate that the device is safe and effective over the
> long
>>>term in primates and then humans, virtually every patient could be
>>>eligible for this treatment in the near future," Nicolelis  said.
>>>
>>>The Duke team is collaborating with  neuroscientists at the Edmond and
> Lily
>>>Safra International  Institute of Neuroscience in Natal, Brazil, to test
>>>the new  procedure in primate models of Parkinson's disease prior to
>>>initiating clinical studies. Neuroscientists from the Brain and  Mind
>>>Institute at the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL), in  Lausanne,
>>>Switzerland, will also participate in this international  research effort
>>>to translate these new findings into clinical  practice.
>>>
>>>Study co-authors include William Siesser and  Marc Caron.
>>>
>>>Funding for this research was provided by  grants from the National
>>>Institutes of Neurological Disorders and  Stroke (NINDS), International
>>>Neuroscience Network Foundation  (INNF) and the Anne W. Deane Endowed
>>>Chair.
>>>
>>>----------
>>>Adapted from  materials provided by Duke University Medical Center.
>>>Email or  share this story:
>>>Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or  report? Use one of the
>>>following  formats:
>>>APA
>>>
>>>MLA
>>>Duke University  Medical Center (2009, March 21). Novel Spinal Cord
>>>Stimulator  Sparks Hope For Parkinson's Disease Treatment
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