Marjorie, I still love you, but you are too cynical. All this is of course
too
late for us, but I wrote comments below.
Michel
From: "Marjorie L. Moorefield" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, October 27, 2000 9:38 AM
Subject: Re: NEWS: Nando: Gene therapy used to turn back clock on
Parkinson's
> I hate it when only specific parts of articles are picked and quoted.
> In my morning newspaper there is in the same previously quoted article, a
> statement which would certainly make me take it with a grain of salt.
Scientific papers that may be of interest to certain people are
often summarized and translated into common language so
that the world at large may understand it.
> Since our PD is not chemically induced
That has not been established.
> and since the brains of monkeys are not the same as humans,
Primates (humans, apes, monkeys, etc) have more than 98%
of their genes identical.
> this make persons grasping for straws only hope for something
> which ,more than likely will never happen. I think this is cruel to
> publish such hopeful things to the public, and I think researchers
> only do it to try to get more research money.
Scientists tend to publish the results of their research when
possible if that does not reveal potential information that
might
have commercial value to competitors. The papers are usually
reviewed by peers before it is accepted for publication.
The publication or presentation of research is an important
tool
of the scientist and allows them to exchange ideas, and that
can often lead to new leads. The media seek out scientific
information that might be of interest to the world at large,
and
unfortunatly at times, that information may be misleading or
twisted.
> They should have held this article until it went to the FDA and was
> approved by them for testing.
The FDA gets a potential drug when it is ready for human
trial,
and that is done in several phases. The protocols of
testing
is quite rigid, though it seems that lately the rules have
relaxed
because of outside pressure to approve drugs faster. In my
opinion, this has led to more adverse effects and recalls.
> I quote from the same article:
> Dr. Mark Tuszynski, head of a brain-disorder research center at the
University
> of California at San Diego, said the experiment in monkeys was
"fascinating".
> He said, however, that it is not known whether the brain cells affected by
> the chemically induced Parkinson's in monkeys are precisely the same as
those
> affected by the actual disease in humans.
People ailing are always looking for palliatives and cures,
and
hope is a major component of man's struggle against
disease.
> It continues:
> Kordower said a separate safety study is under way in monkeys, and when
> that is completed in about six months an application for human clinical
trials will
> be prepared for presentation to the Food and Drug Administration.
That will not likely be advertized.
> If all of the studies go smoothly, said Kordower, the gene therapy could
be
> ready for human testing in three to five years.
I'll believe it when I see it.
>
>
>
> At 09:00 AM 10/27/2000 -0400, you wrote:
> >Gene therapy used to turn back clock on Parkinson's
> >
> >(October 27, 2000 12:01 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Researchers
> >at a Chicago medical center have successfully used gene therapy to
reverse
> >the damage of Parkinson's disease in the brains of aged monkeys, and to
> >stop the progression of the disease in its early stages in younger
animals.
> >
> >By inserting a gene that increases the production of the chemical nerve
> >transmitter dopamine directly into the animals' brains, scientists at
> >Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and Lausanne University in
> >Switzerland were able to significantly reverse the cellular brain damage.
> >
> >Doctors now usually try to make up for the loss of dopamine with a drug
> >that helps the brain produce it, but the effect eventually wears off.
Some
> >success has been achieved by grafting fetal nerve tissue into brains of
> >Parkinson's patients, but this doesn't stop the loss of the original
cells.
> >The big hope lies in some way of stopping the loss of the critical
> >dopamine-producing cells before the disease advances too far.
> >
> >"The study suggests a new approach to forestall disease progression in
> >newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease patients," said Jeffrey Kordower,
> >director of the Research Center for Brain Repair at Rush and lead author
of
> >a report on the research published in the journal Science on Friday.
> >
> >Key to the treatment is a special virus, called lenti-GDNF, developed by
> >Swiss researchers, that can deliver the gene for glial-derived
neurotrophic
> >factor into the brains of the primates.
> >
> >Kordower said it is expected that clinical testing of the lenti viral
> >delivery system for GDNF on humans will begin in Switzerland and the
United
> >States in less than five years, depending on the outcome of a safety
review
> >by the Food and Drug Administration.
> >
> >Parkinson's is a slowly progressive disease that degenerates a small part
> >of the mid-brain called the substantia nigra, which causes production of
> >dopamine to slump. That chemical sends signals in the brain that allows
> >people to move smoothly.
> >
> >The disease can cause tremors, limb stiffness, balance and gait problems,
> >and contribute to dementia. Parkinson's affects nearly 1 million
Americans,
> >most of them over the age of 60, although some people develop the disease
> >much earlier. The cause of the disease is unknown, but thought to have
both
> >genetic and environmental factors. There is no known cure.
> >
> >In the study, researchers found that the GDNF gene not only boosted
> >dopamine production, but also the production of GDNF itself, a nutrient
> >that strengthens and protects the brain cells that die due to
Parkinson's.
> >
> >Two groups of monkeys were tested. The first group of eight monkeys, each
> >about 25 years old, all had brains that displayed cellular changes
> >associated with early Parkinson's - the cells are still intact, but have
> >either stopped making dopamine or are making very little. They got six
> >injections of the special delivery virus, lenti-GDNF.
> >
> >After three months of treatment, tests showed a dramatic increase in
> >dopamine production, similar to the levels found in the brains of young
> >monkeys.
> >
> >The second group consisted of 20 young adult monkeys with no symptoms.
> >These primates had been trained to perform a specific hand-reach task for
a
> >food reward. They were given a chemical that initiates Parkinson's-like
> >symptoms, then were retested, and then treated with lenti-GDNF.
> >
> >The animals showed great difficulty in performing the tasks after
receiving
> >the chemical. Following three months of treatment, their performance
> >returned to near-normal. Brain scans showed the treatment had completely
> >prevented degeneration of the monkeys' dopamine-producing system, with
> >brain cells and their fibers preserved.
> >
> >
> >By LEE BOWMAN, Scripps Howard News Service
> >Copyright 2000 Nando Media
> >Copyright 2000 Scripps Howard News Service
> >
>
>http://www.nandotimes.com/noframes/story/0,2107,500273007-500426081-5026660
5
> >2-0,00.html
> >
> >janet paterson
> >53 now / 44 dx cd / 43 onset cd / 41 dx pd / 37 onset pd
> >TEL: 613 256 8340 URL: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/
> >EMAIL: [log in to unmask] SMAIL: PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0
Canada
>
