To: Peter Jackson ("Sonic Hedgehog", 10/28) and to all:
Thank you for your insightful and resource-filled contribution. As I have
long stated in this forum, research into "neurotrophic factors" (substances
which cause particular neurons to grow or to regenerate and start performing
their original function) is among the most exciting and promising research
that's being done for Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders.
I do recall "sonic hedgehogs" (the name for the molecule which induces
undifferentiated brain cells into becoming dopaminergic neurons) having been
discussed some months back on this list. One company working in this area,
sometimes called "developmental biology", is Ontogeny, Inc., of Cambridge,
MA, a firm apparently still in an early R and D phase, operating on venture
capital (hasn't "gone public"). Its literature states, in part, as follows:
+++++
"Ontogeny, Inc. is a young biotechnology company with a mission of applying
recent breakthroughs in the nascant field of developmental biology to the
therapy of major human diseases characterized by the inappropriateness of
specific cellular function. The company's first targets are ... CNS diseases
including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease...
"Developmental biology has exploded in the last five to ten years as the
tools of molecular biology have been applied to classical embryology to
determine the control molecules and cellular mechanisms by which organisms
develop. It is now believed that the same mechanisms that control embryo
devleopment are those active in the adult during normal repair and
regenerative processes. Therefore the control molecules and key cells
discovered in the embryo can be brought to bear on adult diseases where cell
and tissue regeneration, in vivo or in vitro, represents a curative approach.
"Only recently have the key control molecules active during development,
called inducing molecules, been identified. These molecules are extremely
potent proteins that act at the level of the cell surface to control
development. ... The nature of these proteins suggests that pharmaceutical
development will be relatively straightforward. ... One key molecule that
controls much CNS development is called hedgehog.
"Ontogeny's technology base leads to two distinct therapeutic
commercilization pathways: inducers as classical pharmaceutical agents, and
cell replacement therapy, the in vitro generation of specific cells which are
then surgically or topically induced.
"A wide variety of unmet clinical needs may be approachable through an
understanding of the developmental process and a knowledgeable use of
inductive substances. For example... (a)t the tissue level, administration of
differentiated and functional dopaminergic cells might relieve the symptoms
of Parkinson's patients."
+++++
It's a very exciting field and one that holds great hope for all of us
Parkinsonians, as well as others suffering from neurodegenerative disorders.
Remarkable strides are being made in treatment of ALS ("Lou Gehrig's
disease) and I think it's only a matter of time (and public and private
research money and dedicated and determined researchers) before a real
breakthrough is made for Parkinson's therapy. Whether that breakthrough is
in the form of implanted dopamine producing neural cells grown in vitro or
through small molecule delivery of neurotrophic factors through the
blood-brain barrier to the substantia nigra or by some other means or method
or path, it's coming. Too many good scientists are getting too close to an
answer in too many areas of research for it not to happen.
Thanks again, Peter Jackson, for a fine contribution, and I hope your mother
continues to do well in her treatment for Parkinson's.
Best regards,
Larry Allen (50,4)
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