With all the treatments and medications that slow Parkinson's disease, there has yet to be one that shows signs of stopping it. However, there are many trials using gene therapy with the hopes of eventually being more effective and much less invasive than any of the available treatments. A perfect end result would be the possibility of wiping out the disease altogether.
The deterioration of nerve cells within the brain eventually leads to impaired muscle function and movement. Damaged cells mean less dopamine, which is needed to help the brain control movement. Some of the symptoms are shaking and tremors.
Scientists hope to use the gene therapy technique to battle Parkinson's disease by replacing defective genes with healthier ones. There has been quite a challenge in trying to send the new, healthy genes into the appropriate areas of the brain. Scientists have been using certain viruses to carry the genes into cells.
One company exploring gene therapy is Neurologix, Inc. In an article in the Newark Daily Business News they reported that:
On September 25 in San Diego, at the 19th Annual Symposia on the Etiology, Pathogenesis and Treatment of Parkinson's Disease and Other Movement Disorders, the Company released findings of its landmark gene therapy Phase I clinical trial for Parkinson's disease, which for the first time demonstrated safety and statistically significant improvements in both clinical measures of movement as well as PET scan measures of brain metabolism.
Click here to read the entire article.
Though this is a new method of treating Parkinson's, the hope for progress is tremendous.
