Trauti,

boy is this depressing!!  It seems that there is little or no organized 
focus on our goals.  This is why I don't expect a cure in my lifetime.

Ray

Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
[log in to unmask]

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Trauti Boyd" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 5:22 AM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Spinal Cord Stimulator Sparks Hope For Parkinson's Disease 
Treatment

> 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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