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Cell Research Gives Hope to Parkinson's Sufferers Jan. 29, 2004. 07:55 PM CALGARY (CP) University of Calgary neuroscientists have discovered how the brain tells the body to move. It's research that could give new hope to people with Parkinson's disease. The researchers say they have greater understanding of how the brain processes sensory cues that prepare the body for action, which may some day lead to new or different treatment for the degenerative nerve disorder. "The next step is to develop new drugs or therapeutic stimulation, and to modulate these cueing cells to trigger motor response," said Dr. Bin Hu of the university's faculty of medicine. Hu, scientific director of the Movement Disorder and Therapeutic Brain Stimulation Program, has spent the past decade studying the thalamus, a part of the brain where signals for hearing, vision, touch and movement converge. Neurons in the thalamus decide what part of the brain gets signals and when, exerting tremendous influence on how people think, memorize and react to the outside world. His research team found that cue cells take in sensory information and cognitive signals from the cortex. When those signals collide, they create a burst that alerts the body for action. They believe the cue cells are controlled by a chemical messenger called acetylcholine, which can synchronize the collision of signals. The discovery may explain why Parkinson's patients have considerable difficulty controlling their movements, yet they are able to move smoothly when stimulated by strobe lights or music, said Hu. The information was published in the Jan. 6 edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. There are no immediate plans to test Hu's theory on human Parkinson's patients. "The more important thing at this stage is that we have to have a thorough understanding of this cueing system, then we can revisit the current Parkinson's disease model," said Hu, a neurophysiologist recently recruited from the University of Ottawa. About 100,000 Canadians have Parkinson's, a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease. It's believed that the telltale shaking of sufferers occurs when the brain does not have enough dopamine, a naturally occurring chemical which allows nerve cells to transmit messages to muscles. Most drug therapy replaces dopamine in the brain. Hu said this discovery could provide another treatment possibility. "Parkinson's patients should realize they have normal nerve pathway that can allow them to move better if we understand what controls it," he said. "Why not have a second look? Probably this system will provide a better alternative than just pumping the dopamine drugs." Neuroscientist Mircea Steriade at Laval University said Hu's discovery is important, but it's too soon to suggest any changes to Parkinson's treatment. "It's a first step," said Steriade. SOURCE: Toronto Star, Canada http://tinyurl.com/2ulql * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn