Parkinson's Disease: Looking ... Video Transcript

Participants

, Lucien Côt&# MD, W. Dalton Dietrich PhD, Blair Ford MD, William J. Marks Jr. MD, Deborah C. Mash PhD

Summary

For years, researchers have been working to find a cure for Parkinson's disease. The answer is still out of reach, but investigators have discovered new and effective approaches to managing the symptoms of this chronic condition. Join specialists as they talk about the latest in cutting edge therapy, as well as promising research that may define the future of Parkinson's treatment.

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: They are determined to cure Parkinson's. Panelists testify before a Senate Subcommittee on Labor Health and Human services. Elsewhere biomedical experts search for advanced methods to stop this progressive degenerative disease.

MICHAEL J. FOX: "I am here to tell you that administering a successful research program is not rocket science. It is mostly common sense and the will to get things done. And we're going to get this done. This subcommittee, this Congress, and the NIH have the opportunity to make it happen in time for many more people today living with Parkinson's."

ANNOUNCER: Before clinicians can spare lives, everyday scientists collaborate, investigating cellular dysfunction, brain outlines, and pre-clinical therapies.

Inside the Brain Bank at the University of Miami, this technician prepares brain samples of the area called the Substantia Nigra for analysis. Dr. Deborah Mash heads that department.

DEBORAH MASH, MD: By doing this we can tell whether or not a given protein or toxin would be associated with cell death in Parkinson's disease. As neuroscientists we have in our hands for the 1st time the tool to study the human brain: it's structure, it's function, its chemistry, the underlying building blocks. By doing this we can begin to ask questions and get answers about how to stop this disease in its tracks before the development of new symptoms.

ANNOUNCER: So far doctors aren't able to stop this disease but there are advanced surgical strategies as well as traditional medications, which help ameliorate symptoms. Also in test trails are medications, which mimic the function of dopamine.

LUCIAN CÓTÉ, MD: There are also several drugs that are in the process of being tried. They're in trial, they're not available in pharmacies, including one drug, which is, again, a dopamine agonist that is extremely powerful and can be absorbed through the skin. Thus, it can be given by a patch. Another drug that is being looked at is one that might cause a regeneration of those terminals that we know degenerate in a patient with Parkinson's disease. That is still very much in the early phase of study.

ANNOUNCER: Panelists reminded Senators Harkin and Spector that the bio medical and research community have come far with the latest cutting edge treatments.

AUDREY PENN, MD: "We are evaluating available results in promoting the clinical trials of deep brain stimulation, a surgical therapy that can achieve excellent control. Now cell replacement is another strategy for therapy in advanced Parkinson's. Fetal tissue transplantation demonstrated successful replacement of dopamine nerve cells in Parkinson's patients."

BLAIR FORD, MD: Deep brain stimulation involves implanting within the brain an electrode that provides a continuous electrical current. By doing so and by programming the stimulator, the symptoms of Parkinson's disease can be helped.

WILLIAM J. MARKS, JR. MD: There are three components to the deep brain stimulating system. The first is a thin electrode that is implanted by a neurosurgeon deep into the brain. The second is a generator that is much like a heart pacemaker that is implanted into the chest. This generator is connected to the brain lead by a thin wire that is tunneled under the scalp and under the skin down to the generator in the chest. Using a special computer, we are able to non-invasively program the generator to deliver the right amount of stimulation to the brain.

By stimulating brain areas that are functioning abnormally in Parkinson's disease, we can block some of this abnormal brain activity and improve the major motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.