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Team tests gene therapy for Parkinson's disease February 24, 1998 Nikkei English News via Individual Inc. : Nikkei Weekly-copyright Nihon Keizai Shimbun,Inc. Team tests gene therapy for Parkinson's disease A new gene therapy for Parkinson's disease has been developed by a research team from Nagoya City University, the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, and Fujita Health University. The team reports some success with animal experiments and aims to refine the technique to move on to human clinical tests. Parkinson's is a neurological disorder of middle-aged and elderly people characterized by hand tremors and muscle rigidity. The exact cause of the disease is not known, but it is believed to be related to a decline in the activity of tyrosine hydrolase, the enzyme that makes the neurotransmitter dopamine, and the death of brain cells. The strategy behind the new gene therapy is to introduce the gene for this enzyme into the brain, so that the enzyme is synthesized, more dopamine is made and the disease symptoms can be eased. For therapy, the gene is first inserted into an adenovirus, one of a group that causes human respiratory diseases. This virus serves as the vector to get the gene into glial cells, which are a type of brain cell that plays a supportive role in the central nervous system. The transfected glial cells are then injected into the brain. To test the gene therapy, the team used model rats show symptoms like those of Parkinson's, such as a tendency to move around in circles. Several days after the transfected glial cells were injected into the brains of these rats, the animals demonstrated 50% less circling behavior. Unfortunately, the relief was only temporary, ending after around six weeks. However, the researchers think this was due to an immune-system reaction to the injected cells. They believe it will be possible to improve the technique to prolong the therapeutic effect. <<Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc. -- 02-23-98>> [Copyright 1998, Nikkei America] John Stafford -- http://pw2.netcom.com/~johnws/index.html -- [log in to unmask] ................... Si fallatis officium, quaestor infinitius eat se quicquam scire de factis vestris.