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Gene therapy could give hope to Parkinson's patients WebPosted Thu Oct 26 15:14:48 2000 http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2000/10/26/monkey001026 WASHINGTON - A gene transferred to the brains of monkeys was able to control symptoms of Parkinson's disease in the animals. Experts say the results offer "promise" for human patients. Parkinson's disease is a progressive brain disorder affecting cells that make dopamine. The cause of the disease is not known, but this new gene therapy technique prompted the brains of monkeys to produce more of the brain chemical, thereby diminishing symptoms of the disease. The technique uses a virus linked to a gene that triggers production of dopamine. In the experiment, a group of Rhesus monkeys were given a drug, MPTP, that artificially induces Parkinson's disease symptoms. Ten of the monkeys developed pronounced symptoms. Five in the group were then given the gene therapy injection into their brains. Five others received a placebo injection. One monkey in each group died of unknown causes after being injected. Of the four remaining monkeys in the gene therapy group, three were totally relieved of the Parkinson's symptoms. The four control monkeys continued to show signs of the disease and became "severely impaired," said Jeffrey H. Kordower, first author on the study. He said the beneficial effect lasted for at least eight months. The monkeys were then killed for a detailed analysis of their brains. The study will appear in Friday's issue of Science. Cautious optimism Dr. Ted M. Dawson, head of the Parkinson's Disease Research Center at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center says while the experiment shows dramatic effects, he is only cautiously optimistic. He says there are still questions about safety that would have to be answered before the gene therapy could be tried in humans. Dr. Mark H. Tuszynski, head of a brain disorder research centre at the University of California, San Diego, says there is uncertainty about whether the brain cells affected by the chemically induced Parkinson's in monkeys are the same as those affected by the actual disease in humans. Kordower said that another study in monkeys is under way to test the safety of the gene therapy. When that is completed in about six months, he said an application for human clinical trials would be prepared for presentation to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But even if all of the studies go smoothly, said Kordower, it could take three to five years before the gene therapy is ready for testing in humans. Links: Study will appear inScience magazine Friday, October 27, 2000 http://www.sciencemag.org/ The Parkinson Foundation of Canada http://www.parkinson.ca/ -------------------- On-line Learning Series of Courses http://www.bestnet.org/~jwalker/course.htm Member: Association for International Business _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ John S. Walker _/ _/ Publisher, CSS Internet News (tm) _/ _/ (Internet Training and Research) _/ _/ PO Box 57247, Jackson Stn., _/ _/ Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8P 4X1 _/ _/ Email [log in to unmask] _/ _/ http://www.bestnet.org/~jwalker _/ _/ _/ _/ "To Teach is to touch a life forever" _/ _/ On the Web one touch can reach so far! _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/