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Gene Therapy for Parkinson's Disease has begun!

MichaelD

MichaelD

Lifer
CNN Article

NEW YORK (AP) -- Researchers slipped billions of copies of a gene into the brain of a Parkinson's disease patient Monday, marking the first attempt to test gene therapy in a person with that disease.

The patient, 55-year-old Nathan Klein of Port Washington, New York, said he was "feeling fine" in a telephone interview a few hours after the surgery.

Klein said the disease gave him a tremor in his right arm, and made him shuffle and have to catch himself sometimes from falling. Medicines offer some relief, he said, but when he heard about the new study he decided to volunteer.

With the disease, "you don't want to go out," Klein said. "It's embarrassing when you're shaking a lot and you walk like an old man."

Klein is the first of a planned 12 patients for the study, said the surgeon, Dr. Michael Kaplitt of Weill Cornell Medical College. The research is focused on the procedure's safety, rather than whether or not it relieves symptoms.
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My Dad has Parkinson's Disease; it's in it's final stage now...he should be gone already. My Dad should've been dead two years ago; nobody knows why he's hanging on. It's too late for him, but maybe this possible new cure can spare the infected and their families some agony down the road. 🙂

Interesting article nontheless.

 
Originally posted by: redly1
At what age does Parkinsons start to hit?
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Parkinson's can hit at ANY age; that's one of scariest things about it. Michael J. Fox (who doesn't have it that bad yet) got hit in his mid 30's, I believe.

My Dad was...*thinking* about 63-64 when it started. As in the article above, it starts with trembling or stiffness. My dad didn't get the tremors that bad. He got stiff. Couldn't even dress himself.

It rots your mind as well...it's not just like you're shaking and you're fine, mentally. He forgot Mom's name, my name...he forgot that the "salt shaker" is "the salt shaker" He'd say "that thing there...." Sad to watch him rot.

Anyway...TMI there. Hopefully, they find a cure. For now, there is none. Parkinson's ends in death, period. Drugs (Cinemet, in particular) can help EASE the symptoms, but it doesn't cure it.
 
Thanks for the kind words. 🙂 This may sound mean, but when the man upstairs comes for him, it will be a relief on my entire family. Me too.
 
since you seem to be knowledgable on the subject MichaelD, do you know how far Mohammed Ali is with the disease? Will he ever be able to fight again? (i kid on that one) But, seriously, I'm just curious if you know what stage he is currently in.
 
That's great news - both for you dad and the disease in general!

I have the same hopes for treatment of Cystic Fibrosis, which my 3 yr old daughter has. It's like Parkinson's in that there's currently nothing you can do to treat the disease, only the symptoms and it ends up winning in the end anyway. At least with CF, people are living into their 30's and 40's now with improved treatments, but still...I just hope they find the Gene Therapy for it soon.

Good Luck to you and your family 🙂
 
Originally posted by: anxi80
since you seem to be knowledgable on the subject MichaelD, do you know how far Mohammed Ali is with the disease? Will he ever be able to fight again? (i kid on that one) But, seriously, I'm just curious if you know what stage he is currently in.
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Last I read and saw on TV, he's almost a complete veggie, in a wheelchair. The way this disease ends is you lose ALL muscle function, your muscles atrophy and you are bedridden and have to wear a diaper.

Because you can't eat, they surgically implant a tube right thru your stomach wall into the stomach. 2x/day, a mush of protein and vitamins is squeezed into the tube. You get bathed by them putting a sling under you and lifting you out with a crane. Exactly like you get a boat out of the water. It is not pretty.

Don't know what's worse; losing a parent suddenly, like a heart attack or watching them rot like a plant left out in the sun. I am fairly desensitized to it now, though. I was never very close to my Dad, even though I had a "two parent home." We had a lot of problems. A lot.

My mom, OTOH, has become a buddy to me. It's amazing how cool you find out your parents are once you pass 30 and pull your head out of your butt.
 
Originally posted by: TekChik
That's great news - both for you dad and the disease in general!

I have the same hopes for treatment of Cystic Fibrosis, which my 3 yr old daughter has. It's like Parkinson's in that there's currently nothing you can do to treat the disease, only the symptoms and it ends up winning in the end anyway. At least with CF, people are living into their 30's and 40's now with improved treatments, but still...I just hope they find the Gene Therapy for it soon.

Good Luck to you and your family 🙂
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🙁 A child.......what a painful thing to endure as a parent. My son is almost eight; I'd be beyond devasted...I can't imagine how strong you must be to keep it together.

Adults is one thing...but a kid....one that did not a damn thing to deserve such a fate. Poor tyke...I lost my faith in any kind of higher, gentle being many, many years ago. Some things are just plain cruel.

 
thank you for the prompt response. even though you weren't close, my prayers still go out to you and you're family. family is still family, and i am sure it will still have an impact, even if minimal at that.
 
Originally posted by: MichaelD
Originally posted by: TekChik
That's great news - both for you dad and the disease in general!

I have the same hopes for treatment of Cystic Fibrosis, which my 3 yr old daughter has. It's like Parkinson's in that there's currently nothing you can do to treat the disease, only the symptoms and it ends up winning in the end anyway. At least with CF, people are living into their 30's and 40's now with improved treatments, but still...I just hope they find the Gene Therapy for it soon.

Good Luck to you and your family 🙂
Click to expand...

🙁 A child.......what a painful thing to endure as a parent. My son is almost eight; I'd be beyond devasted...I can't imagine how strong you must be to keep it together.

Adults is one thing...but a kid....one that did not a damn thing to deserve such a fate. Poor tyke...I lost my faith in any kind of higher, gentle being many, many years ago. Some things are just plain cruel.
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Actually, the whole situation has renewed and even strengthened my faith in God and brought me into a closer, more dependent relationship on/with Him. He is my strength - so that answer how I can be strong, I guess. And I can be so thankful that so far, my daughter is a bright, normal preschooler who doesn't even know she has a disease. Many children are not as trouble-free as she has been so far and so I thank God for that, even though all the doctors say that eventually the symptoms will catch up with her.

Thanks for your thoughts, though. 🙂

-TekChik
 
Originally posted by: TekChik
That's great news - both for you dad and the disease in general!

I have the same hopes for treatment of Cystic Fibrosis, which my 3 yr old daughter has. It's like Parkinson's in that there's currently nothing you can do to treat the disease, only the symptoms and it ends up winning in the end anyway. At least with CF, people are living into their 30's and 40's now with improved treatments, but still...I just hope they find the Gene Therapy for it soon.

Good Luck to you and your family 🙂
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🙁 that is just horrible, hope it goes well
 
Dude. That sux.
My grandma gave into parkinson's last year.
Theres nothing more infuriating than seeing a loved one reduced to a vegetative state and being absolutely helpless to stop it.
The worst part for me was accepting her condition.
I kept on remembering the "intact" grandma I knew as a child and couldnt accept that grown humans could neurologically devolve like this.
Now I see Alzheimer's creeping up on another family member and the whole process will rear its ugly head again...

I only hope that something similar to Moore's law applies to medical research advancements too.
If only we understood the brain better...

I work at the NIH. If there are any articles(1997-2003) you want on www.pubmed.com, PM me and I will send them to you if I can get it.
We get them as PDF's here for most of the popular journals.
 
My ex's father is beginning to succumb to Alzheimer's. He still holds a job but I fear when ever he drives. And, today, he had some cancer, the size of a quarter, removed from his nose.

Sorry to hear about your father, MichaelD, but hopeful on this news!

And... Muhammad Ali is alive and well
 
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