FIXING PARKINSON’S
CAN INSERTING A GENE INTO THE BRAINS OF PEOPLE WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE HELP? ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS
Using a virus to transmit a good copy of a defective gene into the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease helped improve their symptoms even several months later, a new clinical trial has shown. Ray Dorsey, a Parkinson’s disease expert at Johns Hopkins, says the study provides proof of principle but is unlikely to change clinical care for now.
DORSEY: The benefits that they demonstrated are limited and they will not fundamentally change the way we provide care for people with Parkinson’s disease now, or even likely in the near term. What’s more powerful about this study is that it is a significant scientific stepping stone for future gene therapy treatments in Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders. :20
Gene therapy has been largely unsuccessful in the range of conditions in which it has been tried. Especially when it comes to diseases of the nervous system technical barriers remain, so this study is a potentially important success. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.
