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There was an article about GDNF in the Wall Street Journal for 21 Mar 1996. Briefly, GDNF is one of several elements present in very young organisms that seem to direct nerve growth while the brain is still forming. It has stimulated nerve growth in the lab, alleviated symptoms of induced PD in monkeys, and most recently reported to help reconnect completely severed spinal cords in rats. From all this you can see that despite its great promise, it's a long long way from human therapy. Cheers, Joe J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694 3527 Cody Road Sherman Oaks CA 91403 On Mon, 5 Aug 1996, Jacob Drollinger wrote: > I have been searching for information on this new drug for a while now. I > have been putting off writing to you about it though, because I have been > afraid that my high hopes would be shattered. > It's called Glial Derived Neurotrophic Factor. I have heard so many things > about this, some of which are kinda unbelievable (unbelievable in a bad way). > The first thing I heard was that it was present in fetal brains, and > therefore was supposed to actually grow new nerve cells. I wrote to, and > received a reply from a Dr. Greene at Columbia University last fall. The > point of my letter was to inquire about fetal tissue implants. He said that I > would not be a candidate for their study, due to the post-synaptic nature of > my injury. He also said that the main reason for giving the implants to > normal Parkinson's patients was to supply dopamine producing brain cells. > But, he added, if this was the only reason for doing the surgery, it would > not be in my interest to get one, ever. However, these fetal tissues might > supply trophic factors, which would be of benfit to me. > The next thing I read about this was that GDNF was simply supposed to make > brain cells work more efficiently. This news was a little less promising. I > have heard that about a number of other drugs. > Then came the worst new of all (for me). I heard that GDNF was just supposed > to protect surviving neurons. Hell, that doesn't do me any good. It may sound > selfish and self-centered, but I have lost all of the neurons that I am going > to lose. I need new receptors. The first thing I heard sounded the best. > If anyone there has heard anything about this, please speak up. I can tell > you what I already know. Clinical human trials were set to start this year, > and the manufacturer is Amgen Inc. in Modesto CA. > ANYTHING ELSE. >