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Times of India - Friday 25 May 2001 Doctor claims breakthrough in tackling Parkinson's By Huned Contractor WHEN Sunil Gundia, suffering from the debilitating effects of Parkinson's disease, approached neurosurgeon Dr Dinesh Garg, it was with little hope of any miraculous recovery. All forms of medication had been attempted. Second and third opinions held out no new pointers for a cure in the offing. And it was almost with a sense of resignation that Gundia consented to a definitive treatment modality for the disease. Imagine the happiness when he found himself almost born again, after a unique transplant carried out by Dr Garg. This involved the modification of umbilical cord blood cells into brain cells and replacing the degenerated and damaged nerve cells in the brain stem of Gundia. "The recovery has been 100 per cent and Gundia is now capable of all physical movements which had been earlier hindered due to Parkinson's disease," claims the city-based Dr Garg. It may be a path-breaking discovery and Dr Garg is all set to present a research and case study paper on the same. "This is the first time that cells have been taken from the umbilical cord of a new born child and transplanted with success into the brain. That apart, I have also devised an ingenious method of cooling only the brain and spinal cord by using the cerebrospinal fluid which bathes the central nervous system. This enables the transplanted cells to take residence with the native cells and the rejection rate is therefore reduced," explains Dr Garg, who has done his post-graduation medical studies in the United States of America and has also obtained a Ph.D. in neurosurgical pathology. World-wide, Parkinson's disease continues to be a challenge in terms of established treatment methods. "Mostly, patients are treated with stimulation techniques using electrodes in the hope that the living cells surrounding the damaged or dead cells in the brain may be activated to a degree upwards of normal so that they may kick-start the other cells. While this method does yield positive results for a period of two to three months, it cannot be said to have any permanent benefits. In fact, I would go so far as to say that patients are being fooled by the use of this technique," states Dr Garg. In that sense, full-fledged success lies in the replacement of the dead and damaged cells, which Dr Garg has proved that can be done. In this particular case, the patient was referred to him by Dr Jasbir Kathpal of Chothiram Hospital, Indore. After obtaining his informed consent, Gundia was admitted to Ruby Hall Clinic by Dr Dilip Kiyawat of Jehangir Hospital. Next, Dr Garg recovered a portion of the umbilical cord blood after a baby's delivery and separated the stem cells at Sassoon Hospital. These cells were modified into brains cells in a tissue culture facility provided by Dr Avinash Phadnis at the Shree Clinic, following which they were transplanted after conducting the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) stereotactic localisation of the implantation site in the brain stem. In view of all the parameters involved, the treatment costs an approximate Rs 2 lakh which, Dr Garg informs, is due to the high cost of transforming the brain cells and the cooling process apart from incidentals like MRI and the anti-rejection drugs required. "What I have devised is a concrete mode of treatment. Elsewhere, neurosurgeons are still grappling with the trial and error methods," says Dr Garg, hoping that the world will take note of this innovative surgery and give a new direction to the researchers. [log in to unmask] http://www.timesofindia.com/today/25mpun6.htm ************ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn