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Dear Friends,
As promised the following is page 2 of Routes to a Cure which was part of the
legislative packet given to legislators by attendees of the PAN Forum who
visited congressmen last week in Washington, DC.  I thought it might be
something which would offer you the hope I felt.  We're really near!  PD, you
see, affects a very small part of the brain.  It is not diffuse like
Alzheimer's, for instance.  Therefore, in the case of neural regeneration, for
instance, we're not talking about great distances like we would be if we were
talking about the spinal column or something like that.  Furthermore, unlike
other neurodegenerative diseases, PD can be replicated in animals, so we have
animal models from which to work.  We must all take heart and do our best in
trying to get the Morris K. Udall Act for Research and Education funded.  Take
care.  Barb Brock 53 cg Art 56/1.5 years

Routes to a Cure. . . page 2

Neuro-protective Agents

On a different analytical plane, the damage done to nerve cells that result in
Parkinson's and some other neurological diseases is viewed as the work of
"free radicals" --molecular, metabolic by-products that can destroy healthy
cells. Researchers are closing in on naturally occurring enzymes that appear
to deactivate free radicals in a healthy brain, and are testing antioxidant
drugs that could mop up molecules before they do damage.

Genetic Engineering

Scientists are modifying the genetic code of individual cells to obtain ways
of supporting and extending these therapeutic technologies: for example,
altering a skin cell to become a dopamine-producing cell, one that could be
implanted in the brain without rejection. Genetically engineered viruses --
which can pass through the blood-brain barrier and infuse ailing dopamine
cells with new genes to restore their health -- are being tested by
 scientists. The researchers have eliminated most of the common toxic and
inflammatory side effects of the virus, but recently also succeeded in animal
trials in preventing the virus from provoking an immune response.

Buying time while a cure arrives

 Researchers are reporting promising results among patients using a new device
designed to deliver an electrical signal deep inside the brain, much as a
pacemaker does to the heart muscle. The "deep brain stimulator" has received
preliminary FDA approval for continued trials. This may offer the benefits
ofpallidotomy -- a surgical lesion that alleviates symptoms by short-
circuiting the abnormal neuronal activity that results when the motor system
is starved for dopamine -- with greater  flexibility, and without permanent
damage to the neuronal pathway. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies have
developed more effective "agonists" and "inhibitors" -- drugs that increase
the effectiveness of conventional L-dopa therapies, buying time for patients
while a more enduring cure is researched.

The end OR IS IT THE BEGINNING?