We have been reporting about potential treatments for Parkinson’s disease for some time. (You can find these articles very easily by typing “Parkinson” in the search box to the right.) Today, we are reporting about a potential therapy that is being developed to treat a condition of and not the root cause of Parkinson’s disease (as opposed to this group, www.cerebrations.biz/?p=2595). Dr. A. Feigin, the lead researcher (with 20 co-authors, from a total of 7 centers across the US) reported about a small clinical trial (66 potentials, of which 45 people, aged 30 to 75, were chosen). The goal of this effort, as reported in The Lancet Neurology (early online publication), was to determine the gross efficacy of injecting a virus containing a GABA producing gene into the brain. (In patients with Parkinson’s disease, GABA concentrations in the subthalmic nucleus are greatly reduced.)
All the patients chosen for the study were responsive to L-Dopa, one of the common treatment drugs (used to alleviate symptoms, not treat the disease per se). The study proceeded over a two year period (ending 11 May 2010). Of the 45 subjects, 23 persons served as controls- they underwent “fake” or “sham” surgery. The other 22 patients received the virus (with GABA gene insertion) injections. Those who received the injection (gene therapy) demonstrated a 23% increase in their motor score (unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale [UPDRS]). The control group exhibited a 12.7% improvement to that score.
While this may seem encouraging, the reported difference between the control and the treated subjects was only 10.4%. If there are no other improvements (such as alleviation of dyskinesia or quality of life improvements), then this author wonders if the costs for such therapy are warranted.
