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Sunday July 20 2003 10:38 IST Indian researchers on trail of gene causing Parkinson's disease Reuters NEW DELHI: Leading Indian research institutes are hot on trail of the gene that causes Parkinson's disease, a degenerative nervous disorder that affects one percent of people over 60 years of age. Involuntary tremors, slowness in movements and postural instability are among signs of Parkinson's disease, an illness that has also struck actor Michael J. Fox and boxing champion Muhammad Ali. "We have made some encouraging findings in our research and have clearly identified two groups- those who respond to drugs and those who do not. Those who do not respond have been found to have some gene defect," Madhuri Behari, head of neurology department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), told IANS in an interview. Behari said it would take years of research still to come to a definitive answer "though the breakthrough is very encouraging and is a hot topic." Parkinson's disease is caused by degeneration of pigmented nerve cells in the brain and shortage of dopamine, a chemical produced by the nerve cells. Often mistaken as symptomatic of old age, many people fail to get treatment on time. The percentage of people likely to suffer from Parkinson's disease may increase after 65 years of age, say experts. While in the U.S., around 300 per 100,000 people have been found to have this disease, the rate in Asia is much lower at around 150 per 100,000 people. It is only among the Parsis, a close-knit community in India where consanguineous marriages are common, that the number of people suffering from Parkinson's disease has been found to be much higher, according to Behari. Several medical research institutes in the country are collaborating in the pharmaco genetics research, being funded by the Department of Biotechnology, "to find out which gene is breaking down the enzyme faster and design the right drug for treatment." India is also partnering international efforts for development of drugs to control complications of Parkinson's disease. "We had participated in an international multi-centre drug trial last year and this year again we would be conducting similar drug trial in August/September and another early next year," said Behari, who heads the Delhi-based Parkinsonism and Related Disorders Awareness Network (PRAN). Parkinson's disease is usually treated by a group of drugs known as levodopa. But there are side effects and complications due to long usage of the drugs. "At times when these side effects become difficult to treat and medication fails we suggest deep brain stimulation (DBS) or Subthalmic stimulation operation. This involves placing a small electrical electrode into the brain in an area called subthalmic nucleus. The electrode is attached to a small machine like the pacemaker and implanted under the skin of the chest wall," Behari said. Programmed to relieve all the symptoms of the disease without damaging the brain tissues, this pacemaker is offering a fresh lease of life to several people like A. P. Singh, a colonel in the Indian army, and Sukwinder Singh, a Malaysian of Indian origin who was operated upon in January this year. "After four years, we changed the battery of Singh's stimulator on Friday. The implant has helped him to go back to work and brought down the medication considerably," said Alok Gupta, consultant neurosurgeon at Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (VIMHANS) in Delhi. According to both the doctors, an increasing number of patients are coming from overseas to have the DBS operation done here as the cost, including hospital stay, works out to $10,000 as against $50,000 in the U.S. "Being an extremely debilitating disease, the insurance companies don't pay for the cost of implant overseas, so India is increasingly becoming an attractive place to have the operation done," said Gupta. SOURCE: Reuters / Newindpress, India http://tinyurl.com/hivn http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IE320030720010817&Title=Features+-+Health+%26+Science&rLink=166 * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn