Hope has been offered to people with the
previously untreatable degenerative condition
Huntington's Disease.
French doctors have transplanted foetal brain
cells into five sufferers. A year after the
operation, three had shown improvements in
their motor and cognitive functions.
A larger study is planned to develop the
research into a possible treatment for others.
Huntington's usually develops when people are
between 30 and 50 and gets progressively
worse. Patients display jerky involuntary
movements, difficulty in speaking and
swallowing, and progressive decline.
Grafts
Researchers from the National Institute for
Health and Medical Research (INSERM), in
Paris, looked at the part of the brain affected
by Huntington's - the striatum.
Patients were assessed for two years before
the foetal nerve cells were grafted into the
right and, a year later, into the left striatum.
Healthy brain cells from seven nine-week-old
foetuses were transplanted into people with
relatively mild Huntington's symptoms.
Neurological and
psychiatric tests,
including magnetic
resonance imaging
(MRI) and position
emission tomography
(Pet), were carried out.
The final Pet scan
showed increased
metabolic activity in
three of the patients, which meant
improvements in their motor and cognitive
skills. One is even able to hold down a
part-time job.
Of the other two patients who had the
operation, one saw a "clear but temporary"
improvement, which lasted around 18 months.
The other saw no gain.
Research
Huntington's disease affects around one
person in every 10,000. A genetic test is
available but not all those deemed to be at risk
decide to take it.
Some people prefer to stay in the dark
because of the impact a positive result would
have on their lives. They may find themselves
having to pay higher insurance premiums.
INSERM is now planning further tests on
around 60 patients, to be carried out with
other French and Belgian research teams.
Results should be available in four to five
years.
The cells used in the study were taken from
aborted foetuses, something researchers said
did not contravene French laws banning
research using embryos.
In the UK, embryo research is only permitted
up to 14 days or before the first signs of
neural development, and only if the Human
Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is
satisfied that the use of embryos is necessary
for the purposes of the research.
Benefit
Research has identified the cause of
Huntington's to be a repeated sequence of
DNA on chromosome four of the genetic code.
People with the sequence are susceptible to
developing the disease, although the precise
trigger is still not clear.
Sue Watkin, chair of the UK Huntington's
Disease Association, said: "It does provide
hope. There isn't very much of any sort at the
moment."
And she said even if it the development was
unable to stop the progression of the disease,
if it could give a reasonable level of
functioning, it would be "a great benefit".
The research is published by The Lancet.
--
Cheers,
Joao Paulo - Salvador,BA,Brazil
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