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Eye Cell Implants Improve Parkinson's Symptoms
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 There are few effective treatments for Parkinson's, and those that do work often have unpleasant side effects and may stop working over time.
Patients selected for the study were chosen based on their responsiveness to levodopa and the severity of their symptoms when they were off their medication. Using MRI-guided stereotactic surgery, the researchers implanted Spheramine into areas of the volunteers' brains that appeared to be most affected by Parkinson's.
After 12 months, there was a 48 percent improvement in symptoms. At 48 months, that number had dropped to 44 percent, but Bakay said the researchers were pleased that the treatment maintained effectiveness for that long.
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The only significant side effect seen in this small study was a transient headache, he said.
Dr. Bruce Silverman, a neurologist at Providence Hospital and Medical Center in Southfield, Mich., said the new study "showed that there was clinical improvement over a sustained period of time. The study was based on small numbers, but it shows some promise."
He added that the study needs to replicated with a larger group of patients.
Bakay said the researchers have recently completed a larger, double-blind study, and results of that trial should be available by the end of this year or early 2009.
More information
To learn more about treatments available for Parkinson's disease, visit the National Parkinson Foundation.
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Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 4/28/2008
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SOURCES: Roy Bakay, M.D., professor, neurological surgery, and the A. Watson and Sarah Armour Presidential Chair, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago; Bruce Silverman, D.O., neurologist, Providence Hospital and Medical Center, Southfield, Mich.; April 29, 2008, presentation, American Association of Neurological Surgeons' annual meeting, Chicago
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