New Parkinson’s Treatment Shows Promise in Monkey Tests
From Times staff and wire reports
Monkeys got significant relief from Parkinson’s disease symptoms when a naturally occurring growth factor called GDNF was injected into their brains--a hopeful sign for developing a new treatment. Tests on humans are expected to begin this year, according to a report in the March 21 issue of Nature.
Don Gash and colleagues at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington found that GDNF reduced problems of slow movement, arm and leg rigidity and poor balance by at least 25%. A single injection produced improvement within two weeks, and it persisted for at least four weeks.
