 |
 |
from Viartis 9 July 2009 INTERFERING WITH GLUTAMATE TO PREVENT PARKINSON'S DISEASE It has been widely reported that researchers are aiming to interfere with the formation of Glutamate in order to prevent Parkinson's Disease. For the news reports go to Medical News Today and Science Daily. The research was recently presented at a conference. Glutamate is able to form GABA in the brain. GABA is a chemical produced naturally by the brain, that affects muscular function. An excess of GABA could provoke symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. The researchers aim to stimulate "trigger points" in order to prevent the release of glutamate. By targeting specific receptors they hope that side-effects will be minimised as fewer targets elsewhere in the brain will be stimulated. They claim that glutamate causes cell death in Parkinson's Disease. However, glutamate formation is a healthy function, and has never been shown, in normal quantities, to cause cell death in people with Parkinson's Disease. The fundamental weakness in their theory is that glutamate has never been responsible for causing Parkinson's Disease when dopamine formation is sufficient either. The primary biochemical fault in Parkinson's Disease has been proven to be the insufficient formation of dopamine rather than an excess of glutamate. Yet the approach used by the researchers could not, even in theory, increase dopamine formation. In order to refer to this article on its own click here. Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn