Someone close to me was diagnosed with Parkinson Syndrome a few years
ago. I would like to have 5 areas researched.
First, given that the only drug this person has been prescribes is
"Requip", which I believe is just L-Dopa by another name. It slows the
progress of the disease, especially the physical symptoms, by
compensation of the brain's reduced level of that naturally produced
substance. The treating Neurologist has said that this is at present,
the only drug that retards Parkinson, and that it does not improve the
underlying condition, only brings brain function up to its present
deteriorated potential. Are there any promising drugs in the
developmental or clinical trial pipelines that hold promise for
further slowing the physical symptoms?
Secondly, dementia is another symptom of Parkinson as it progresses.
What are drugs able to accomplish in this area and is total
suppression in the R & D pipeline?
Thirdly, what progress has been made toward finding the underlying
genetic cause which prompts people with a pre-disposition to it, to
actually develop it? Thus, what advances are being made toward
preventing the onset entirely?
Fourthly, is any progress being made toward reversing the disease once
it has begun?
And lastly, has genetic research, especially with the mapping of the
Human Genome, provided any avenues toward identifying people at very
high risk or even to say that one will definitely acquire it, so that
suppressive medications can be brought to bear as early as possible?
I have read the information at the Parkinson web Sites that are
comprehensive. I am more interested in the academic, commercial and
government and privately financed research results that may be too
esoteric for the average layman. |
Clarification of Question by
chadbourne-ga
on
21 Apr 2004 14:11 PDT
In the third part, please ignore the fragments - "underlying genetic &
"with a predisposition to it" thus leaving aside any presupposition of
cause that would influence your providing a straight forward response
to the progress being made toward identification of people who are
developing or will develop PD and thus applying the preventive
measures, regardless of cause. The same applies to part 5, which, as
above, can really serve as a preamble to answering the third question.
Thus, there are really only 4 questions to be confronted. The question
of genetic predisposition will be another avenue for me to pursue if
you can just point me to one recent article on that subject alone.
As for your offer to provide more information on the helpful drugs
under study, hat would be fine but please restrict the references to
the top couple of drugs that are showing the most promise and have had
at least one successful clinical trial.
As I said in the original question, the subject is too broad to
research all of these in any great depth; so I will be quite pleased
with references to just the top researched results and I will carry on
for now. I am more interested in the quality of the breadth of
response rather than to the depth and number of responses or
references.
If something catches my eye where I need more in depth guidance to
pursue my own follow-on research, I will certainly ask for a brief
clarification.
Just to explain why I formulated the question as I did, I tend to
believe that the future unraveling and most of all, the analysis of
the Human Genome will explain all human disease. This is not however
to imply that this is the sole causation basis, such as heredity vs.
behavior, i.e. smoking, in lung cancer, only that diseases all have
genetic bases, but that the predisposition is scattered all over the
graph; so I should have ignored that in this type of question.
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