Role of DOPAL in Parkinson's Diseases!!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
A team of scientists has announced proof that the chemical DOPAL starts the chain reaction that causes Parkinson's disease.
The St. Louis University researchers discovered that dopamine itself actually plays a role in destroying the cells that produce it. DOPAL is one of many possible residues that remains after dopamine is depleted. It happens to be a poisonous leftover.
Since the mid 1990s researchers have been trying to understand the impact of a chemical called DOPAL (short for endogenous metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde) on people with Parkinson's disease. This is the culmination of many years of research on the subject.
"The findings provide a target for Pharmaceutical companies and other researchers to block DOPAL formation and its toxic effects," wrote lead researcher William J. Burke MD, PhD, in an email to My Parkinson's info.
Scientists have long known that a key protein called alpha-synuclein plays a role in the development of Parkinson's disease.
Alpha-synuclein is found throughout the brain—but in some people, the protein clumps together. This causes the death of the dopamine-producing cells, which in turn causes Parkinson's to develop.
It is likely that these claims will meet some scrutiny from the scientific community, and the theories could be revised. We may learn that not all PD cases are caused by DOPAL. However, these findings should lead to some rapid research and development into better treatments for Parkinson's disease
Continous Levodopa Therapy for Parkinson's Disease
Friday, October 5, 2007
Since many years, Doctors have wondered whether direct supply of levodopa and carbidopa to the intestines would give optimal effect. They have found out that the patients undergoing continuous levodopa therapy experienced a "heightened therapeutic effect, including a reduction in motor fluctuations.
Now , the medication called duodopa, administered into an area of the small intestine called the duodenum, is still in clinical trial in the United States. Using a small patient-controlled pump, the drug is continuously delivered through a tube that ends in the upper small intestine where it is rapidly absorbed. Some patients use a tube that travels through the nose, throat, and stomach, while others have the tube inserted surgically through the abdominal wall. Patients load the pump with a gel that contains levodopa and carbidopa. This delivery system ensures a more even supply and uptake compared with the conventional tablet treatment.
Duodopa administered as continuous levodopa therapy has shown remarkable results in people with advanced Parkinson's disease. Among the most optimistic reports, some people who were previously bedridden were able to walk again and use ability they had lost.
Hopefully this therapy makes its way through clinical trials quickly for people in the United States. It appears to have considerable potential to help people with Parkinson's disease. It has also been in practice in India by many neurophysicians. The response has been quite variable.
