Word: parkinsons
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...hard to imagine asking a doctor to destroy a part of your brain. For the more than 1 million Americans suffering from Parkinson's disease, however, such a drastic measure--in which an electrode is used to kill tremor-causing neurons--may become necessary...
...irreversible procedure is just one of many therapies, both surgical and pharmacological, that Parkinson's patients have tried over the years to control the tremors, rigidity and other symptoms that characterize the disease. All the treatments offer some relief, but none can remotely be called a cure. Now that may be changing. The further scientists peer into the human genome, the more they are uncovering the secrets of Parkinson's--and the more they are becoming convinced that next-generation drugs may at last be able to beat back the disease. What's more, the benefits may not be limited...
...first place to look for causes of and treatments for Parkinson's disease is in the brains of patients. As the illness worsens, brain tissue becomes clogged with a protein muck that includes a substance called alpha-synuclein. No one knows exactly what alpha-synuclein does, but it's believed to play a role in the smooth transmission of nerve signals. When the substance clumps, it can't do the work it was designed to do, leading to neuron damage, loss of the neurotransmitter dopamine and eventually the familiar shakiness of such well-known Parkinson's sufferers as Janet Reno...
...hunt for a Parkinson's cure got a boost in 1997 when researchers discovered a handful of patients whose alpha-synuclein genes had mutated. This might seem like open-and-shut evidence that the cause of the illness had been found, except that the vast majority of Parkinson's patients, whose brains also grow gummed up, do not carry the mutation. Still, scientists believe that the bad gene is a powerful clue. "There appear to be more clumps in the brains of people with the mutant gene," says Zigmond. "Learning how the protein functions may help us develop drugs that...
...Parkinson's Disease In an important step forward for both Parkinson's research and the struggling field of gene therapy, scientists in Chicago used a gene that boosts dopamine production and strengthens brain cells to successfully treat monkeys showing symptoms of the neurodegenerative disorder. By injecting a virus containing the GDNF (glial-derived neurotrophic factor) gene directly into monkeys' brains, scientists stimulated cell growth in areas normally injured by Parkinson's and reduced symptoms of the disease, such as hand tremors. Although success in primates doesn't mean success in humans, researchers hope to start clinical trials in humans within...