Voa Science Report - Parkinson's Disease: Exploring the Mystery of a Movement Disorder

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ONE: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA English. Im Faith Lapidus. VOICE TWO: And Im Steve . Today we tell about the latest research and treatments Parkinsons disease. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Muhammad Ali is known the world as one of the great sports stars the twentieth century. He needed great energy and power become the world boxing champion. As he grew older, , he began to change. The energy and power began disappear. His face lost its expressiveness. His legs lost speed. Muhammad Ali is sixty-five years old now and retired from boxing. Yet it was not age that him so much. It was Parkinsons disease. VOICE TWO: is a disease of the central nervous system. It a progressive disorder. It gets worse over time. The affects a small area of cells in the middle the brain. This area is called the substantia nigra. cells slowly lose their ability to produce a chemical dopamine. The decrease in the amount of dopamine can in one or more of the general signs of disease. These include shaking in the hands, arms and . They also include difficulty in moving or general slowness movement. Another symptom is difficulty keeping balanced while walking standing. Other signs in some people include decreased movement the face. Also, there can be emotional changes, like depressed or worried. The symptoms of Parkinson's differ from to person. They also differ in their intensity. Some develop minor effects. Others become severely disabled as the get worse. VOICE ONE: The disease is named after Parkinson. He was a British doctor who first described condition in eighteen seventeen. Doctor Parkinson did not know caused it. During the nineteen sixties, medical researchers discovered in the brains of people with the disease. These led to medicines to treat the effects of the . There is no cure for Parkinson's and no way prevent it. And doctors still are not sure about cause. Parkinsons is found in all parts of the . The World Health Organization estimates up to six million have the disease. Most are older adults. The disease men a little more often than women. (MUSIC) VOICE : Most patients have what is called idiopathic Parkinsons disease. means the cause is unknown. People who develop the often want to link it to some cause they identify. This might be a medical operation or extreme stress. Yet many doctors reject this idea of a link to Parkinsons’. They point to other people who similar experiences and do not develop the disease. Still, say it is possible that such events might cause of Parkinson's to appear earlier than they would have. studies have found a link between Parkinson's and chemical for killing insects. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic reported year that men who often used such products increased risk of developing the disease. But women who used had no increased risk. VOICE ONE: In May, another showed the link between pesticide use and Parkinsons'. This also found that serious head injuries also increased a risk. Finlay Dick of Aberdeen University in Scotland led study. His team collected information about more than nine people with Parkinson's or similar conditions. The team compared group to almost two thousand people without the disorder. people lived in Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Romania and Malta. the people were asked about their use of pesticides, fluids, and metals like iron. The team also collected on family history of Parkinson's and head injuries. Farm and others who said they often used pesticides had forty-one percent greater risk of Parkinson's than other people. disease was also two and one-half times more common people who had been knocked unconscious more than once their lives. These people temporarily lost consciousness after suffering blow to the head. This finding is especially important athletes like boxers who are often knocked unconscious. As told you, former boxer Muhammad Ali is probably the most famous Parkinson's patient. VOICE TWO: Another area of is family genetics. There are some cases of many of a family having the disease. Three years ago, linked changes in a gene called PARK-eight to cases Parkinsons in some families. Other research involves genes that increase the risk of the disease in some ethnic . Two years ago, researchers completed what they called the large map to show genetic links with Parkinson's disease. map identifies changes in twelve genes that may increase risk in some people. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Improved treatments ease the symptoms of Parkinson's disease make it possible many patients to live almost normal lives. People who lost their ability to do many things are sometimes to regain some of these abilities with treatment. The commonly used drug is levodopa. When it reaches the , levodopa is changed into dopamine, the chemical that is in people with the disease. Levodopa helps deal with symptoms of Parkinsons'. But it does not prevent more in the brain that are caused by the disease. can also produce unwanted effects in some people. These effects include feeling sick to the stomach. To prevent from happening, other substances can be combined with levodopa. TWO: Other drugs used to treat Parkinsons disease act dopamine. They produce reactions in the nerve cells in brain. For example, the United States Food and Drug recently approved a skin patch to treat early symptoms Parkinsons'. The product, called Neupro, is a cloth-like material on the skin. Neupro contains rotigotine, a drug that to activate dopamine receptors in the body. Last month, researchers reported that a drug commonly used to treat blood pressure also slowed the development of Parkinsons'. In tests, the drug, isradipine, protected dopamine nerve cells from that would normally kill them. The drug still must tested in people. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Doctors sometimes perform to treat Parkinsons’. Last year, the Food and Drug approved an operation called deep brain stimulation. Doctors place electrical devices into the brain. These are connected to small piece of equipment called a pulse generator. Deep stimulation can reduce the need for levodopa and other . It also helps to reduce symptoms such as shaking, of movement and problems with walking. VOICE TWO: Scientists also experimenting with genes to treat Parkinsons'. Last month, British medical journal, The Lancet, reported about an experimental therapy. It seemed to improve symptoms of the disease causing side effects in an early study of twelve . The treatment involved putting billions of copies of a into the brain to ease overactive nerve cells. The cells become overactive because they lack the normal supply an important chemical called GABA. The extra copies of gene made the brain produce the needed chemical. The was designed to test the safety of the method of its effectiveness. The scientists were pleased with the but said they had a lot more testing to . VOICE ONE: Around the world, groups provide education and services for Parkinson's patients and their families. Last year, World Parkinson Congress took place in Washington, DC.. More two thousand people met to discuss the latest progress treatments. The next such meeting is planned for two ten. (MUSIC) VOICE TWO: SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was by George Grow. Brianna Blake was our producer. Im Ember. VOICE ONE: And I'm Faith Lapidus. You can and listen to our programs at our Web site, .. Join us again next week for more news about in Special English on the Voice of America.

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