Parkinson's
advances
The central cause of
Parkinson's disease is a lack of a chemical in the brain called dopamine. Now
researchers at Rush Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago think they've found a way
to make those Cells produce dopamine,
by using gene therapy. Researchers injected a new gene to produce dopamine
directly into the brains of rhesus monkeys. As a result the dopamine made the
symptoms of Parkinson's disappear in all of the monkeys, without returning.
Doctors say the treatment may be available for humans in a
year.