Tunisian neurosurgeon develops promising therapy

TUNISIAONLINENEWS
A Tunisian neurosurgeon has developed a new therapy for Parkinson’s disease, which remains an incurable disease so far.

This therapy involves the regular and continuous stimulation of dopamine, a substance whose deficiency causes motor dysfunction. It is injected into the brains of three genes required for synthesis of dopamine in order to ensure a continuous secretion.

The standard treatment for this condition is limited to irregular stimulation of dopamine which leads later abnormal movements just as troublesome as the disease itself.

The medical and scientific achievement is the result of four years of research by the team Bashir Jarraya and Stéphane Palfi, neurosurgeons at the hospital Henri Mendori in Paris. It has been tested on primates, which have subsequently been able to get 80 % of their motor skills. Clinical trials are underway in six patients.

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that affects nerve cells, or neurons, in a part of the brain that controls muscle movement. Parkinson’s disease belongs to a group of conditions called movement disorders. In Parkinson’s, neurons that make a chemical called dopamine die or do not work properly. Dopamine normally sends signals that help coordinate movements. It usually starts between the age of 55 and 65.

For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org