Note the following news items from the wire services via
Compuserve:
 
06/22 0927  CLINICAL TRIALS SHOW PROMISE FOR NEW PARKINSON'S DRUG
 
PITTSBURGH, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- A pilot clinical trial shows
encouraging evidence that the drug GM1 ganglioside is effective
at substantially reducing some of the functional impairments
caused by Parkinson's disease.  The results are reported in the
June issue of Neurology.  According to Jon Brillman, M.D.,
director of neurology at Allegheny General Hospital, these
results are the basis for controlled trials being conducted at
AGH's medical schools, the Medical College of Pennsylvania and
Hahnemann University in Philadelphia.
     Unlike two controversial Parkinson's procedures recently
under public  discussion -- fetal cell transplant and pallidotomy
surgery -- GM1 ganglioside is non-invasive, self-administered and
potentially more accessible to Parkinson's patients.
     "The drug appears to enhance the brain's ability to produce
the key  neurotransmitter dopamine," Brillman said.  It is the
lack of dopamine that leads to the tremors, rigidity and
cognitive problems that mark Parkinson's.  "The concept of using
this drug to help the body produce dopamine shows tremendous
promise for the next decade compared to current therapies,"
Brillman added.
     According to the study's lead author Jay Schneider, Ph.D.,
professor of  anatomy, neurobiology and neurology, MCPHU, "Though
the precise mechanism is not clear, GM1 ganglioside may rescue
damaged dopamine neurons, stimulate them to repair themselves,
promote growth of new dopamine terminals on the neurons and
perhaps even stimulate remaining dopamine neurons to produce more
than their normal amount of dopamine."
     The study reports functional improvements brought about by
the drug continued for the duration of the study.  Improvements
in motor skills and activities-of-daily-living included decreased
rigidity and bradykinesia (abnormal slow movement); reduced time
required to perform physical tasks; greater ease in walking and
dressing; and an increased energy level.  Cognitively, the
patients were less distractible.
     Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder
that destroys  muscular control, afflicts one percent of all
Americans over age 55.  "Given a very long life, most people
would suffer some effects of the brain's naturally decreasing
production of dopamine," Schneider said.  Unfortunately,
Parkinson's causes a loss of dopamine-producing cells above and
beyond that seen in normal aging, and it accelerates the
consequences of having too little dopamine in the brain.
     -0-                        6/22/95 /EDITORS' ADVISORY:  Call
Judy Secreto at
412-359-8604 to arrange an interview with Dr. Brillman or Merrill
Meadow at 215-762-8284 to arrange interviews with Dr. Schneider./
/CONTACT:  Judy Secreto of Allegheny General Hospital,
412-359-8604/
CO:  Allegheny General Hospital; Medical College of Pennsylvania;
Hahnemann University ST:  Pennsylvania IN:  HEA SU:
 
 
06/22 0806  CLINICAL TRIALS BEAR OUT PROMISE OF NEW ...
 
/ADVANCE/ PHILADELPHIA, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- A pilot clinical
trial  showed encouraging evidence that the drug GM1 ganglioside
is effective at substantially reducing some of the functional
impairments caused by  Parkinson's disease.
     Those results, reported in the June issue of Neurology, are
the basis for controlled trials being conducted at Medical
College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University (MCPHU),
Philadelphia.
     Unlike two controversial Parkinson's procedures recently
under public  discussion -- fetal cell transplant and pallidotomy
surgery -- GM1 ganglioside is non-invasive, self-administered and
potentially more accessible to Parkinson's patients.
     The drug appears to enhance the brain's ability to produce
the key  neurotransmitter dopamine; it is the lack of dopamine
that leads to the  tremors, rigidity and cognitive problems that
mark Parkinson's.
     "Though the precise mechanism is not clear, GM1 ganglioside
may rescue damaged dopamine neurons, stimulate them to repair
themselves, promote growth of new dopamine terminals on the
neurons -- and perhaps even stimulate remaining dopamine neurons
to produce more than their normal amount of dopamine," said the
study's lead author, Jay Schneider, Ph.D., professor of anatomy,
neurobiology and neurology, MCPHU.
     Dr. Schneider and his colleagues reported that the
functional improvements brought about by the drug continued for
the duration of the study.  Improvements in motor skills and
activities-of-daily-living included decreased rigidity and
bradykinesia (abnormally slow movement); reduced time required to
perform physical tasks; greater ease in walking and dressing, and
an increased energy level.  Cognitively, the patients were less
distractible.
     Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder
that destroys  muscular control, afflicts 1 percent of all
Americans over age 55.  It is marked by abnormally slow movement,
uncontrollable tremors, stooped posture and a shuffling gait.
     "Given a very long life, most people would suffer some
effects of the brain's naturally decreasing production of
dopamine," Dr. Schneider explained.  "Unfortunately, Parkinson's
causes a loss of dopamine-producing cells above and beyond that
seen in normal aging, and it accelerates the consequences of
having too little dopamine in the brain."
     Doctors currently treat most Parkinson's patients with
L-dopa, which acts as a replacement for their own dopamine.
"While L-dopa ameliorates the symptoms, it loses its efficacy
within a few years, often causes undesirable side effects, and
does not deal with the underlying loss of dopamine-producing
neurons," Dr. Schneider noted.
     Given that GM1 fosters repair and revitalization of
remaining neurons, but does not create new neurons, it may prove
most effective in early stages of the disease, he said.
"However, since laboratory research suggests that only a small
portion of the dopamine system needs to be spared or functionally
recovered to achieve normal motor and cognitive skills, GM1 could
benefit even patients with more established Parkinson's disease
-- providing there are enough dopamine neurons remaining for GM1
to act on," Dr. Schneider suggested.
     The Neurology report involved 10 patients with mild to
severe symptoms of the disease, most of whom had been taking
L-dopa.  At the outset, the patients were given a battery of
tests to assess their functional abilities; those tests were
repeated four times over an 18-week period.  Each patient
received a large intravenous dose of GM1 at the trial's
beginning, then self-administered 200 mg of the drug each day by
injection.  Eight patients completed the full 18-week treatment;
two patients dropped out early, feeling they were not benefitting
from the trial.
     Among those eight participants, significant improvements in
motor skills and ability to perform activities-of-daily-living
occurred in the first eight weeks of the trial and stabilized
over the remaining 10 weeks.
     "While the results of this initial study are encouraging, we
must be careful not to overstate the significance of these
findings," Dr. Schneider observed.  "Since the patients in this
study all knew they were receiving a new drug, their function may
have improved due to psychological factors unrelated to the
medication.  Yet, since some patients have maintained their
original improvement over almost two years now, it is hard to
argue these effects are due primarily to psychological factors."
     The current clinical trial is a double blind, placebo
controlled study of 50 patients.  If that trial also demonstrates
safety and effectiveness in GM1 treatment, the next step would be
a multicenter trial that could begin as early as 1996.
     The big question Dr. Schneider and his colleagues will
ultimately try to  answer as their research progresses is whether
early enough treatment with GM1 or related drugs could alter the
course of the underlying disease.
     GM1 ganglioside is a normal constituent of nerve cell
membranes and is known to moderate a number of neuron surface and
receptor activities. The type of GM1 used in this study was
extracted from cow brain.
     Dr. Schneider is also studying a semi-synthetic derivative
of GM1, called LIGA 20, which could prove even more effective in
restoring the function of the dopamine system.
     The MCPHU research was funded by the F.M. Kirby Foundation,
the Marion and Joseph Wesley Foundation, the Alzheimer's Disease
Research Center at Hahnemann, and through donations to the
Parkinson's Disease Research Fund at Hahnemann.
     Dr. Schneider's co-authors of the Neurology report were
MCPHU colleagues David Rothblat, Ph.D., Jillian Chapas-Crilly,
B.S., and Louisa Seraydarian, Ph.D.; David Roeltgen, M.D., of The
Health Education and Research Foundation of Williamsport (Pa.)
Hospital, and Jayaraman Rao, M.D., of Louisiana State University
Medical Center.
 /delval/ -0-                6/22/95/1700 /CONTACT:  Phyllis M.
Fisher, Asst. V.P./Communications or Merrill S. Meadow, Media
Relations Manager, of Hahnemann University, 215-762-8284/
CO:  Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University ST:
Pennsylvania IN:  MTC HEA SU:
 
 
 
Bob Cowan <[log in to unmask]>