Any info on this...?

[Rajeshjkt]

google.com/amp/s/www.telegr...

I couldnt get to read thw whole article

[MBAnderson]

The whole article cannot be read unless you subscribe. I noticed that the article is written as a teaser and cut off where it gets interesting. Personally, I wouldn't bother subscribing or even reading the whole article because it looks to me like this periodical is mostly about sensationalism.

In the column to the right of this article is another article entitled, "The Parkinson’s Drug Trial: a Miracle Cure? review: possibly the most powerful documentary you will see this year."

Generally speaking, I don't pay much attention to articles unless they're in professional journals which this is not. Secondly, I consider the author of any article who uses the words "miracle cure" in the same sentence as the word "Parkinson's" to be full of sh*t.

You are in the UK . It would be like us in the US getting medical information from the National Enquirer. Trust me, there's nothing of value for you in this rag.

[park_bear]

Nor can the rest of us since it's behind a paywall.

[ElliotGreen]

I found a place where I can read it for free. Maybe it will work for you too. Here's the link:

pressreader.com/uk/the-sund...

It's a weird interface. First, click on the little green arrow by the teaser text. Then click and drag the screen to scroll right to read the story.

The article is about a clinical trial where people had robot-assisted surgery to allow for 10 months of GDNF injections directly into the brain. (GDNF is Glial-cell derived neurotrophic factor. When eaten or injected, it cannot cross the blood brain barrier.)

The article talks about the clinical investigation and also one man's experience of being a test subject.

Here's another article about this study:

medium.com/parkinsons-uk/gd...

Both articles say that the initial results were not as great as one hoped. The GDNF patients did about 6% better than those who received placebo treatment.

However, people still think there is reason for hope for this treatment.

Here is the test subject's experience described in your article:

"It is particularly frustrating for Williams, who was on the dummy infusions for the first nine months of the trial, experiencing a brief that faded away after a few months. All 41 patients then underwent an extension phase, during which they each received GDNF for a further nine months: "it wasn't considered ethical to put people through brain surgery without ever giving them a chance to have the drug," explained Dr. Alan Whone, the principal investigator. The difference, for Williams, was immediate. "More than anything, there was a continual improvement in the fluidity of my movement," he remembers. "I was back running again, and it was just a wonderful feeling. I can go for a five or six mile run and not suffer foot cramps. People said I used to walk with the stoop before the trial, and now I was walking upright, striding out.""

There may be more data to come out of this study. There is evidence of dopaminergic cell regrowth.

From the second article:

"Brain scans reveal positive effects on damaged brain cells

"All participants had specialised brain scans (called PET) before starting the trial and after nine months. Participants had an injection of a radioactive version of dopamine (18F-dopa) so that the PET scanner could then track the movement of dopamine through their brains.

"After nine months, there was no change in the scans of those who received placebo, whereas the group who received GDNF showed an improvement of 100% in the part of the putamen, and between 20–50% improvement in the rest of this brain area — and crucially these improvements were statistically significant.

"This finding shows that the device successfully delivered the drug to the target brain area and that GDNF was having a biological effect on cells.

"The improvement in the brain scans may indicate that GDNF may be helping damaged cells to grow new connections, restore hibernating connections, produce more dopamine — or a combination of all three."

Finally, I will link the two research articles that were recently published on this study.

Randomized trial of intermittent intraputamenal glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in Parkinson’s disease

academic.oup.com/brain/arti...

Extended Treatment with Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Parkinson’s Disease

content.iospress.com/articl...

[ElliotGreen in reply to ElliotGreen]

Some further quotes from the article. Remember, we've seen stuff hyped before.

===================================

Nick Vallotton, 45, also witnessed "spectacular" changes to his condition. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's age 38.... Like Williams, he unknowingly spent the first nine months of the trial on the placebo, but when he finally received GDNF, he noticed dramatic improvements. "Physically, I felt different. I got my function back in my right hand – before, I could hardly write – and I could eat properly. My voice was a massive thing; lots of people with Parkinson's get very quiet, and that's changed massively."

As all patients received GDNF in the second phase and there was no placebo to compare it with, evidence of improvement was deemed scientifically inconclusive. Neither of the men has been allowed the drug since the trial finished two years ago, and much of their hard-won progress is fading away.

...

Prof. Stephen Gill, the neurosurgeon at the helm of the study, admits that the results published on Wednesday were a "huge disappointment", but is pleased that GDNF showed enough promise to move on to the next phase of the clinical trials.