*GDNF and other Information: Part One

[Guest guest]

I have seen a little discussion on the board of GDNF, but not a whole

lot. So, I thought I would share these links for those who might not

have run across them yet.

First, from the London Press Service:

ISSUE 265 07 May 2002

BRITISH SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL NEWS

Compiled by Jim Kelsey, LPS Special Correspondent

CAN PARKINSON'S DISEASE BE " REVERSED " ? STN2/265/1

DOCTORS have developed a pioneering surgical procedure which could

provide a breakthrough in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

A research team led by Dr Gill, a consultant neurosurgeon at

Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, west England, believes it has

discovered a way of reversing the deterioration of the brain to

restore movement in patients with the disease. The researchers say

they have been " astonished " at how effective the treatment has been.

The procedure, which involves the doctors pumping a growth factor

called glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) into the

brain, has so far been performed on five patients. North Bristol

Healthcare Trust, which runs Frenchay Hospital, said preliminary

results showed all five patients experienced marked improvement in

their symptoms following the therapy, with most noticing significant

changes in their ability to talk, walk and laugh.

" I burst out laughing, which I hadn't been able to do for several

years, " said patient Roger , who as well as learning to laugh

again has regained his lost sense of smell.

This is the first time that such improvement in a chronic

neurological disease has occurred following infusion of a growth

factor. If further trials are successful, the treatment could become

more widely available in the next four to five years.

Parkinson's disease is caused by progressive deterioration of nerve

cells in the part of the brain controlling movement. Symptoms range

from slowness of movement to stiffness of the body and limbs, and

tremors. Patients may have a distinctive, shuffling gait and develop

depression and an impaired ability to think. Although treatment with

the drug levodopa can restore almost normal movement in many patients

with early Parkinson's disease, the treatment gradually loses

effectiveness as the disease progresses.

Dr Gill's team now believes it can reverse the degenerative effects

of the disease by using GDNF which is a growth factor essential to

the development of the nerve cells that use a chemical called

dopamine to transmit impulses from the brain to the muscles.

In the procedure, catheters are implanted in the part of the brain of

a Parkinson's sufferer which controls movement and is deficient in

dopamine. The catheters are in turn connected to pumps which are

filled with GDNF and continuously infuse the growth factor to this

area of the brain.

" We can deliver the drug very precisely to areas in the brain in the

concentrations that we need to cause recovery and we can control that

very precisely, " said Dr Gill. He said he and his colleagues were

very surprised at the effects of the treatment.

" We thought that this drug would take some months or years to be

effective but we found that really within a month or two patients

were noticing significant changes, " he reported.

The doctors say it is too early to tell if the treatment is long

lasting or could be used on all sufferers of Parkinson's. The

hospital trust stressed that the treatment was still in its infancy

and multiple further trials were needed to assess its continuing

safety and efficacy. If it does prove successful and safe, it may

become more widely available during the next four to five years.

Dr Gill, Frenchay Hospital, Frenchay Park Road, Frenchay,

Bristol, United Kingdom, BS16 1LE. Telephone: +44 .

This article can be found at:

http://www.london.press.net/cgi-bin/printit.cgi

issue=265&service=science

Cheers,

Zac