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CURRENT SCIENCE REVIEWS By Joe Bruman April 2001 Page 1 of 3 Heilwig B et al;Lancet; 17 February 2001:519-523: The study of 7 essential tremor (ET) patients and 3 others with enhanced physiological tremor by simultaneous electroenceph- alography (EEG) of the sensorimotor cortex and electromyography (EMG) of wrist muscle showed significant coherence, suggesting that ET may arise in the sensorimotor cortex, but a critical editorial review (492-493) is dubious. Lancet, 17 March 2001:859(Editorial): With headline "Doubts Over Cell Therapy In Parkinsons Disease", attempted impartial review of the first controlled trial of fetal tissue transplant notes pronounced age bias in success against motor symptoms, and eventual recurrence of dyskinesia in 5 (about 15%) of the 33 recipients. Also faults control scheme, on ethics of having subjects agree to only 50% odds of getting the real transplant first time around, and of confounding the long-term comparison of sham and actual (so they are damned if they do and damned if they don't). Cornwall P et al;BMJ, 24 February 2001:493-494 (letters): Critical comment by several, on reports that St John's wort is as good for depression as the prescription drug imipramine. BMJ,03 March 2001:511(News Item): Catalonia in Spain is the latest example of European regions ahead of the USA in enlightened regulation of marijuana. BMJ;03 March 2001:510(News Item): In its 3d annual report, the UK Xenotransplantation Regulatory Authority encourages further stem cell research, but rejection problems have dimmed hopes for whole-organ replacement, and uncertainty about safety in general remains an obstacle. Freed C et al;New England Journal of Medicine 2001;344:710-719: The first formally controlled trial of embryonic dopamine neuron (fetal tissue) transplantation for PD. Half the cohort of 40 PD patients received actual transplants, others only sham surgery (although those who wished got the real thing after 1 year). In general, the transplants survived and grew, with modest clinical benefit to recipients 60 or younger, but little or none to those older than 60. Fischbach G, McKhann G;NEJM 2001;344:463-465 (editorial): Faint praise of the above item, noting that there is much to learn before such transplants can become accepted therapy. JAMA;7 February 2001:545-550,551-555,594-600(Invited Reviews): Entire issue on theme of "Opportunities For [Future] Medical Research". Essays on Gene and Stem Cell Therapies, Prospects For Neurology and Psychiatry, and Genetic Information [And Future Drugs] manage to fill 18 pages listed here, without significant mention of PD. The same issue, incidentally, also contains an 8-page article supporting AMA's position on gun control. CURRENT SCIENCE REVIEWS By Joe Bruman April 2001 Page 2 of 3 Kimura M et al;Ann Neur 2001;49:276-277(letters): In a study of over 500 PD patients and controls, they tried carefully to duplicate a previous discovery (CSR MAY 00) that a certain dopamine transporter gene allele is associated with lower susceptibility to PD, but found no such association. Hashimoto T et al;Ann Neur 2001;49:242-245: A PD patient's "off"-period foot dystonia recurred at the start of his pallidotomy surgery, but disappeared as the first microelectrode penetrated the globus pallidus (before any ablation was performed). Fukuda M et al;Ann Neur 2001;49:155-164: By means of PET imaging and standardized movement tests on 6 recipients of deep-brain stimulation implants in the internal globus pallidus, they found that improvement in different aspects of motor performance was selective and unequal. DeLong M et al;Ann Neur 2001;49:142-143(editorial): Comment and speculation on the report above, and the fact that precisely how DBS works its magic is still unknown. Boraud T et al;Brain 2001;124:546-557: In experiments comparing MPTP-treated and normal monkeys given various dopamine agonists to induce dyskinesias, and using a probe to record activity of single neurons in the globus pallidus, they found correlation in the MPTP group of both firing pattern and frequency alterations to the dyskinesias. Haslinger B et al;Brain 2001;124:558-570: By means of MRI scan during simple directed movements, they determined the regional distribution in the brain of the effects of levodopa, in 8 subjects with early-stage akinetic PD and 8 healthy volunteers. The correlation helps to understand the details of PD and its therapy. Frey K;Ann Neur 2001;49;185-286: For informed specialists, a review of recent research and some speculation, on the pharmacodynamics of levodopa as PD therapy. de la Fuente-Fernandez R et al;Ann Neur 2001;49;298-303: The main subject reviewed in the item above: With the aid of positron-emission tomography (PET) scans of several PD patients at various points in their cycle of motor fluctuations, they found that observed "wearing-off" is preceded by fluctuations in the synaptic concentration of dopamine, and that rapid turnover of dopamine may explain some complications of PD. Spira P et al;Ann Neur 2001;49:313-319: By treating and observing for many years members of a familial PD cluster featuring a rare mutation of a certain alpha-synuclein gene, and the chance to autopsy two of them, authors gained new insight into effects of that mutation and the etiology of PD. CURRENT SCIENCE REVIEWS By Joe Bruman April 2001 Page 3 of 3 Hilker R et al;Ann Neur 2001;49:367-376: By means of positron-emission tomography (PET) authors studied 5 affected members of a familial PD cluster and 5 of their asymptomatic relatives. All the subjects had a certain mutation of the parkin gene, and the asymptomatic ones were found by the PET scans to have abnormal dopaminergic signs of latent PD. -- J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694 3527 Cody Road Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-5013 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn