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Now this looks promising...

Nic 57/15

On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 4:46 AM, rayilynlee <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Novel spinal cord stimulator sparks hope for Parkinson's disease treatment
>
> DURHAM, NC - A novel stimulation method, the first potential therapy to
> target the spinal cord instead of the brain, may offer an effective and less
> invasive approach for Parkinson's disease treatment, according to
> pre-clinical data published in the journal Science by researchers at Duke
> University Medical Center.
>
> Researchers developed a prosthetic device that applies electrical
> stimulation to the dorsal column in the spinal cord, which is a main sensory
> pathway carrying tactile information from the body to the brain. The device
> was attached to the surface of the spinal cord in mice and rats with
> depleted levels of the chemical dopamine - mimicking the biologic
> characteristics of someone with Parkinson's disease along with the impaired
> motor skills seen in advanced stages of the disease.
>
> When the device was turned on, the dopamine-depleted animals' slow, stiff
> movements were replaced with the active behaviors of healthy mice and rats.
> Improved movement was typically observed within 3.35 seconds after
> stimulation.
>
> "We see an almost immediate and dramatic change in the animal's ability to
> function when the device stimulates the spinal cord," says senior study
> investigator Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., Ph.D., the Anne W. Deane Professor of
> Neuroscience at Duke. "Moreover, it is easy to use, significantly less
> invasive than other alternatives to medication, such as deep brain
> stimulation, and has the potential for widespread use in conjunction with
> medications typically used to treat Parkinson's disease."
>
> Researchers tested mice and rats with acute and chronic dopamine deficit
> using varying levels of electrical stimulation and in combination with
> different doses of dopamine replacement therapy, also known as
> 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine or L-DOPA, to determine the most effective
> pairing.
>
> When the device was used without additional medication, Parkinsonian
> animals were 26 times more active. When stimulation was coupled with
> medication, only two L-DOPA doses were needed to produce movement compared
> to five doses when the medication was used by itself.
>
> "This work addresses an important need because people living with
> Parkinson's disease face a difficult reality - L-Dopa will eventually stop
> managing the symptoms," explains Romulo Fuentes, a postdoctoral fellow at
> Duke University and lead author of the study. "Patients are left with few
> options for treatment, including electrical stimulation of the brain, which
> is appropriate for only a subset of patients."
>
> While deep brain stimulation (DBS) and other experimental treatments attack
> the disease at its origin - in the brain - Nicolelis and team took a
> different approach. The concept for the device began when researchers made a
> surprising connection with another neurological condition.
> "It was a moment of sudden insight," explains Nicolelis. "We were analyzing
> the brain activity of mice with Parkinson's disease and suddenly it reminded
> me of some research I'd done in the epilepsy field a decade earlier. The
> ideas began to flow from there."
>
> The rhythmic brain activity in the animals with Parkinson's disease
> resembled the mild, continuous, low-frequency seizures that are seen in
> those with epilepsy. One effective therapy for treating epilepsy involves
> stimulating the peripheral nerves, which facilitate communication between
> the spinal cord and the body. Researchers took that concept and developed a
> modified approach for a Parkinson's disease model.
> Nicolelis says that the low frequency seizures, or oscillations, seen in
> the animal model of Parkinson's disease have been observed in humans with
> the condition. Stimulating the dorsal column of the spinal cord reduces
> these oscillations, which researchers believe creates the ability to produce
> motor function.
>
> In a healthy body, neurons fire at varying rates as information is
> transmitted between the brain and the body to initiate normal movement. This
> process breaks down in someone with Parkinson's disease.
>
> "Our device works as an interface with the brain to produce a neural state
> permissive for locomotion, facilitating immediate and dramatic recovery of
> movement," says Per Petersson, co-author of the study. "Following
> stimulation, the neurons desynchronize, similar to the firing pattern that
> you would see when a healthy mouse is continuously moving."
>
> Nicolelis says that if the device is proven safe and effective through
> further research, he imagines it mirroring similar spinal cord stimulator
> technology currently used to treat chronic pain. Small leads are implanted
> over the spinal cord and then connected to a portable generator, a small
> device capable of producing mild electrical currents. During the trial
> period, the generator is external, while for permanent treatment it would be
> implanted below the skin.
>
> "If we can demonstrate that the device is safe and effective over the long
> term in primates and then humans, virtually every patient could be eligible
> for this treatment in the near future," Nicolelis said.
>
> The Duke team is collaborating with neuroscientists at the Edmond and Lily
> Safra International Institute of Neuroscience in Natal, Brazil, to test the
> new procedure in primate models of Parkinson's disease prior to initiating
> clinical studies. Neuroscientists from the Brain and Mind Institute at the
> Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL), in Lausanne, Switzerland, will also
> participate in this international research effort to translate these new
> findings into clinical practice.
> ###
> Study co-authors include William Siesser and Marc Caron.
>
> Rayilyn Brown
> Director AZNPF
> Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
> [log in to unmask]
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