this is the tri genetic therapy,i am reffering:
[QUOTE]Gene Therapy Success for Parkinson's
Research in monkeys suggests that genetically delivering dopamine avoids some side effects.
By Emily Singer
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24236/
According to an article on the NatureNews website:
http://www.nature.com/news/2009/0910...2009.1001.html
Quote:
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This success in monkeys paves the way for future studies in humans, says Palfi, who reported his animal results today in the journal Science Translational Medicine1. "This is the exact situation that we will face in the clinic," he says. Palfi's team has already tested two different doses of the three-gene-containing virus in six human patients, and is now investigating an intermediate dose that matches that used in the monkeys, with corrections for brain size. Once the researchers find the optimal dose, they plan to move the experimental treatment into Phase II trials, Palfi says.
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...Palfi's technique is not the only gene therapy currently being pursued for Parkinson's disease. Some researchers are delivering genes that provide growth factors to halt the death of dopamine-producing neurons. Others are introducing genes that inhibit the excessive neural activity associated with Parkinson's disease in the same way as the surgical process known as deep-brain stimulation. And yet others are focusing on single genes -- rather than all three -- with a role in dopamine synthesis.
But Palfi's team is the first to deliver all three of the dopamine genes in a single viral vector in primates. This approach aims to eliminate the need for L-DOPA and its associated side effects.