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Bruce, The following is Part 2 of Routes to a Cure. Best wishes. Barb Brock 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.