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The source of this article is Health India: http://tinyurl.com/4nmr2 Scientists identify how gene therapy could help cure Parkinson's disease: [Health India]: Washington, Dec 5 : A new study, published this week in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," has found that viral delivery of a gene associated with Parkinson's disease protected neurons from degeneration. Researchers from Switzerland, studied a more common, recessive form of inherited Parkinson's disease that typically strikes before the age of 40 and is linked to a mutation in the parkin gene. The loss of enzyme activity resulting from this mutation leads to an accumulation of protein substrates, including alpha- synuclein, in the cell. In these juvenile Parkinson's cases Lewy bodies are not generally present. Both these forms of the disease involve buildup of alpha- synuclein in the cell, and result in cell degeneration and death. All the evidence pointed to the possibility that parkin might play an important role in protecting neurons from toxic overaccumulations of alpha-synuclein. The researchers tested this by injecting rats sub-cranially with lentiviral vectors containing the genes for parkin as well as a mutated form of the alpha-synuclein gene. Harmless forms of viruses such as the lentiviral vector are used by researchers because they can efficiently penetrate cells and deliver the gene of interest without inducing a major immune response. The viruses successfully delivered the genetic material to about 30 percent of the rat neurons, causing overexpression of parkin and alpha-synuclein. After six weeks, the researchers found that almost all these affected dopamine neurons in rats that had been injected with alpha-synuclein alone had died. In contrast, numerous affected dopamine neurons in animals injected with both parkin and alpha-synuclein were still going strong. The presence of parkin had protected the neurons from alpha-synuclein toxicity. In addition, rats that had been injected with parkin showed an increase in Lewy body-type intracellular deposits. The researchers postulated that parkin might work to enhance cell survival by somehow transforming soluble toxic proteins into insoluble aggregates. The researchers say that the findings constitute a significant step forward in understanding the molecular mechanisms behind the disease. "We demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of the gene therapy approach in a genetic model of Parkinson's disease," they wrote in their study. According to them, results of this research might lead to new treatments that could prevent the onset of Parkinson's disease in genetically predisposed subjects and arrest the disease's progression once it has been diagnosed. "These observations could translate into the clinic either through a direct gene therapy approach or through the identification of small drugs which enhance the expression of the endogenous parkin," the researchers added. (ANI) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn