Ben McKeen wrote: >My wife just brought home a news magazine article which bears the headline "NEW MIRACLE DRUG COULD SAVE MICHAEL J.FOX". It describes a drug which the author calls Rilutek, says it is FDA approved for ALS or Lou Gehrigs Disease and it shows great promise in treating PD by stopping the progress of the disease.< Drug slows pace of Parkinson’s New York, Jan. 28 1999 - Recently Parkinson’s disease has been in the news because actor Michael J. Fox revealed that he suffers from the degenerative brain disorder. Before that it was Attorney General Janet Reno and boxer Muhammad Ali. Now a drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease is being tested as a way to slow the progression of Parkinson’s. It started with a twitch in my right index finger, which is going right now,” said Parkinson’s patient Carole Peters. In the past 10 years, Peters’ Parkinson’s disease has progressed rapidly. Today, she only gets about 30 minutes at a time relatively symptom-free. The remainder of the time, she’s either shaking, or she is completely stiff. “The stiffness bothers me the most because I feel like I’m stuck in a chair and can’t move and helpless. I get panicky,” Peters explained. Peter’s Parkinson’s is due to the degeneration of a specific group of nerve cells deep in the brain. It is not clear why these brain cells die, but one theory is that they are bombarded with an excess of a neurotransmitter called glutamate. According to Dr. Warren Olanow of Mount Sinai Medical School, “Normally, glutamate helps to communicate information between nerves and other nerves. But if you get too much glutamate, it can actually induce cell death, what’s called excitotoxic degeneration. A new drug called Rilutek, already approved to treat Lou Gehrig’s disease, is being tested as a way to protect brain cells in Parkinson’s. The central neuron is damaged by too much glutamate. Rilutek then is introduced and the glutamate dissipates. Dr. Olanow said, “The hope is that if we block the glutamate with this drug in Parkinson’s disease, we’ll be able to interfere with that cascade and slow down the degeneration.” In other words, if an early stage Parkinson’s patient were to be given the drug, it might prevent them from getting to the advanced stage that Peters suffers, or at least significantly delay that progression. Dr. Olanow is leading a national study to see whether Rilutek works. “We are recruiting patients with early, untreated or minimally Parkinson’s disease,” he said. This Phase III study aims to enroll people with early Parkinson’s, ages 40 to 80, at 43 medical centers around the country. The Parkinson’s Foundation is encouraging patients to take part, partly because it is the first drug that actually interferes with the cell death process rather than just treating the symptoms. This is not a cure for Parkinson’s, but what Rilutek may do is make it so that instead of taking 10 years to get to a certain stage of the disaese, it may take 20 years or more. MSNBC Conditions and Privacy © 1999 >Also says that NPF is recruiting PWP volunteers for testing... Company Press Release SOURCE:National Parkinson Foundation Parkinson’s Disease Patients Sought for Phase III Clinical Trial - Trial to Examine Delay of Disease Progression MIAMI, Jan. 28, 1999 / PRNewswire/ -- A clinical trial examining the potential to delay the progression of Parkinson’s disease is now seeking patients for enrollment. Parkinson’s disease patients, ages 40-80, with recent, untreated symptoms are being sought at 43 clinical sites in the United States. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive, degenerative brain disorder that affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans, with more than 50,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Parkinson’s disease symptoms worsen over time and include tremor of the arms and legs, rigidity and stiffness of muscles, and slowness of movement known as bradykinesia. Research with experimental Parkinson’s disease animal models suggests that Rilutek (riluzole) tablets, the first drug approved for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, may slow down the progression of Parkinson’s disease. The exact mechanism of action of Rilutek is unknown. ``Presently, we are only able to treat the symptoms of Parkinsons disease,” said Dr. C. Warren Olanow, chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. ``This study will test our ability to slow the progression of this devastating disease.” ``We strongly encourage members of the Parkinson’s community to enroll in this promising phase III clinical trial. The information that we hope to obtain is critical to the millions of people who either suffer from Parkinson’s disease or who are at risk of getting it,” noted Dr. Abraham Lieberman, national medical director of the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF). Michael J. Fox, the 37-year-old actor who recently revealed his seven-year battle with Parkinsons, is among the approximately 10 percent of patients under the age of 40 who are stricken with the disease early in life. Affecting one out of 100 people in the over-60 population, the average age of onset of Parkinsons is usually 55-60. Eighty-five percent of patients are diagnosed after age 50. “As the world population ages and specifically baby boomers enter their elderly years, Parkinson’s disease will become an even greater public health issue in this country,” added Dr. Lieberman. While it has no known cause or cure, Parkinson’s disease occurs when nerve cells producing the brain chemical dopamine die. Eighty percent of dopamine-producing cells die in Parkinson’s patients impairing their ability to produce smooth controlled movements. Such nerve cell death often results in the stooped posture, slurred speech and slow, shuffling walk characteristic of Parkinson’s disease. Although the rate of the disease’s progression varies in each individual and the disease itself is not fatal, late stage Parkinsons patients are often unable to walk, talk or care for themselves. Patients enrolled in this phase III clinical trial will receive treatment (riluzole or placebo) for two years. Riluzole was approved for ALS in the U.S. in 1995 and has since been approved in 44 other countries. The drug’s most common side effects in ALS patients are asthenia (fatigue), nausea, and elevated liver enzymes. Side effects in patients with Parkinson’s disease are not known. Copyright 1999 PRNewswire -- Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada <[log in to unmask]> ^^^ \ / \ | / Today’s Research \\ | // ...Tomorrow’s Cure \ | / \|/ ```````