Recent research

Back to those hopeful headlines. Research is progressing at quite a pace and positive developments are reported with encouraging regularity:

• The big new star on the scene is gene therapy, which is making an impact in so many areas. Unlike the conventional treatments for Parkinson's aimed at modifying the symptoms, gene therapy treats the underlying progression of the disease. Without raising false hopes, the PDS believes that gene therapy could eventually halt the progression of Parkinson's and even lead to a cure.
• Another exciting prospect, offering real chance of a breakthrough, comes from stem cell research, which implants the inner cell mass from an embryo into the patient's brain in order to replace lost dopamine-producing cells. The UK has been leading the field in stem cell research but China is making rapid progress.
• At the beginning of this year, three studies relating to research into genetic faults in the LRRK2 gene were published in the Lancet. The conclusion was that the gene mutation appears to be responsible for up to 5 per cent of Parkinson's in people with a family history and up to 2 per cent of cases where there is no family history of the condition.
• A team at University College London recently reported that non-invasive magnetic stimulation that can alter neural pathways might have a beneficial effect for Parkinson's sufferers as well as those with depression, epilepsy and stroke.
• Meanwhile experimental surgery is being developed to transplant the patient's own nerve cells or genetically engineered cells to restore that vital dopamine-making tissue.