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Clinic part of trial of very promising' Parkinson's treatment Sunday, February 25, 2007 Zachary Lewis Plain Dealer Reporter Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic are collaborating with eight medical institutions nationwide to test what they call a promising new treatment for Parkinson's disease. "This would be a whole new paradigm," said Nicholas Boulis, a Clinic neurosurgeon and the primary investigator in the local trial. "It's really opening up a whole new way of approaching Parkinson's." Under examination is CERE-120, a manufactured gene transfer agent that prompts the brain to repair itself. Specifically, CERE-120 is an adeno-associated virus carrying a gene that causes the brain to produce neurturin, a naturally occurring protein that repairs damaged dopamine neurons. Dopamine loss leads to the involuntary movements symptomatic of Parkinson's. Thus, CERE-120 stands to halt or even reverse the effects of the disease. "I think this is very promising," said Marilyn Brandt, president of the Parkinson's Education Program of Greater Cleveland, a local support group. Nearly 50,000 Americans have Parkinson's disease diagnosed every year. The disease affects 4.3 million worldwide. A unique feature of the CERE-120 trial is the method of delivery. Existing dopamine treatments such as patches distribute substances across the brain, but CERE-120 is administered through precise injection into the putamen, part of the brain that influences movement. The surgery consists of drilling two holes in the skull and, navigating by magnetic resonance imaging, delivering eight CERE-120 injections. "Basically, the putamen evaluates everything you're trying to do from a motor perspective and decides whether or not to let it happen," Boulis said. "To be effective, treatments need to be in the exact right part, and they need to be there a long time." CONTINUED 1 | 2 Next ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn