Studies Say Fetal Tissue Aids Parkinson Patients : Medicine: Researchers also report success with more sophisticated version of long-abandoned brain surgery technique.

Two types of experimental surgical procedures have significantly improved the conditions of patients with Parkinson’s disease, surgeons said here Wednesday.

Two teams of researchers independently reported that in a total of 11 patients, grafts of fetal tissue obtained during abortions sharply reduced tremors and rigidity and increased control of limb functions.

In one patient, sophisticated imaging techniques showed that the transplanted cells have continued to improve their functioning since November, 1988, neurologist Curt R. Freed of the University of Colorado School of Medicine said at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. “This is the first evidence that transplants last for a long time and continue to get better,” Freed said.

The new results come at a time when both the House and the Senate have passed slightly different versions of a bill that would overturn the ban on federal funding of fetal-tissue research imposed during the Ronald Reagan Administration. Those bills will be reconciled by a conference committee later this month.

Bush Administration spokesmen have suggested that the President will veto the bill on the grounds that it may encourage more women to get abortions. A veto is almost certain to trigger a showdown with Congress, which could override the veto.

Also at the meeting, a team from New York University reported similar success using a once-abandoned surgical technique in which small sections of a brain structure called the medial globus pallidus are removed surgically.

Twelve patients who underwent the procedure in the last three months showed major functional improvements with no complications, said NYU neurologist Enrico Fazzini. His procedure is a vast improvement over a similar technique used during the 1950s and 1960s, he said, because new imaging techniques allow surgeons to pinpoint the areas to be removed.

But the researchers emphasized that neither procedure is ready for wide use. “The patients are better, but they are not better enough to recommend the procedure” to all Parkinson’s patients, neurologist D. Eugene Redmond Jr. of Yale University said.

Freed added: “I’m very enthusiastic about doing it on another six to 12 patients, but I’m not ready to recommend wide use. There’s room for improvement.”

Fazzini emphasized that his technique should be used only on patients who have failed all other types of therapy.

Parkinson’s disease is an age-related disorder that affects more than 1 million Americans. It is characterized by tremors and rigidity in the limbs and loss of control of muscle functions. Many patients also develop dementia--impaired thought processes.

The disorder is caused by the death of brain cells that produce a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which plays a key role in transmitting commands to the muscle-control centers. The disorder is treated with a drug called L-dopa, which alleviates symptoms by producing dopamine in the brain. But many patients do not respond to L-dopa, and most patients become resistant to the drug over long periods.

During the last five years, researchers have treated more than 200 patients with transplants of dopamine-producing cells from the adrenal gland, but these experiments have shown mixed results. Animal studies have shown that fetal brain cells are much more effective than adrenal cells, and the new results seem to support that.

Freed reported on seven patients, although he recently operated on an eighth. All were profoundly disabled before the procedure and had failed drug therapy. Four of the seven showed “considerable progress,” two showed “some improvement” and one showed no effect, Freed said.

One patient, a 57-year-old former telephone linesman from Santa Rosa, could not drive, could not talk normally and “was not even able to make himself a sandwich,” Freed said. Eight months after the surgery, he talks normally, has regained his driver’s license and is getting ready to leave on a driving trip around the country.

Another patient, a 64-year-old women, “fell all the time” because of poor muscle control. Six weeks after surgery, she stopped falling, Freed said, and she is now “very close to normal.”

Freed noted that none of the patients developed complications from the surgery. “The biggest problem,” he said, “is that we cannot yet predict who will get better” as a result of the surgery.

Redmond reported on four of the 11 patients he has treated, but was hesitant to reveal many details because his study will be published shortly in the New England Journal of Medicine. But he did report that the patients’ “medication doses were generally reduced and several motor skills were improved.”

In the technique, the researchers take brain cells from an aborted fetus of 7 to 11 weeks’ gestation. Using a long, thin needle, they inject the cells into specific sites in the brains of Parkinson’s patients.

The procedure used by Fazzini and NYU neurosurgeon Michael Dogali is based upon studies showing that neural activity in the medial globus pallidus (MGP) is increased in Parkinson’s patients.

The surgery is performed through a small incision just above the hairline while the patient is under local anesthesia. By being able to move limbs during the procedure, the patient helps surgeons identify which small sections of the MGP to remove.

He reported that the patients showed a one-third to two-thirds reduction in symptoms, and that the procedure was effective for about 85% of patients. Perhaps most important, he observed no complications from the procedure. Disabling complications were common in the cruder surgeries performed two decades ago.

Despite the promise of fetal cell transplants for treating Parkinson’s, research has been severely restricted by the ban on federal funding. Both Freed and Redmond have used funds from private sources to cover costs that the patient is not able to pay. Freed said that cost is about $30,000. And he said that two of his patients’ operations were covered by their insurance--an unusual situation because most companies do not provide reimbursement for experimental therapy.

The successful results may have great impact in Washington, especially if President Bush vetoes the bill overturning the ban.

“I think encouraging results like this may make it easier for a congressman who is undecided to support the bill,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), sponsor of the legislation. “We were only a few votes short of the two-thirds (needed to override the veto) in the House when the bill was originally passed.” The bill passed the Senate by an 87-10 vote, far more than needed to override a veto.

Times staff writer Marlene Cimons contributed to this report from Washington