Apr 15, 2009 6:48 pm US/Eastern
Parkinson's Disease
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Parkinson's Disease afflicts one million Americans, including Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox. It's a terribly disabling nervous system disorder. An experimental technique may one day offer help for one of the worst symptoms of the illness.
Tremors and shaking are the most visible external signs of Parkinson's, but perhaps the most serious problem for patients is that they become frozen.
They can't initiate walking, standing, or reaching for something. Drugs don't treat that problem very well at all.
"I think it's the walking and balance, basically. To be able to feel confident that they're not gonna fall," said Paul Green, Parkinson's patient.
Now a study in the Journal Science may have found a new way to help patients frozen in place.
The Duke University study uses spinal cord stimulation, a common treatment for chronic pain but with an unexpected effect in Parkinson's.
"This shows that a very unexpected pathway can have a profound effect in the way the motor system operates. I don't think anyone thought about treating PD with stimulation of the spinal cord, particularly the sensory component of the spinal cord," Dr. Miguel Nicolelis of Duke University said.
Researchers tested a rat that was experimentally-induced with Parkinson's. The animal was frozen in place.
Within a few seconds of the start of electrical stimulation, the rat started to move and moved much more than when it was not being stimulated.
Other experts caution, however, that these rodent models don't truly mimic Parkinson's in humans and the benefit on movement is not explained by any known nerve pathways.
"This is a very preliminary observation. It needs to be replicated, it needs to be tested in primates or monkeys. I would not encourage any patient to even consider having a procedure like this based on the information we have. But what I would say is here's an element of hope in an area where up until now we've not had good treatments," Dr. Warren Olanow of the Mt. Sinai Medical Center said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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