New Study Suggests L-Dopa May Slow PD Progression

Just two years after the release of its groundbreaking agenda for Parkinson’s disease research, the government’s leading medical research agency has released a report card on where we are today in the quest for the cause and cure of this debilitating neurologic disorder…and how we should be allocating resources to the next phase of the struggle.

The report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), prepared at the request of Congress, cited six research areas in particular as priorities. One of these is the field, known as “translational research,” that links basic and clinical studies — sometimes referred to as the bridging of the space between “bench and bedside.” The second is the study of the non-motor aspects of Parkinson’s, such as the mood disorders and digestive complications that affect so many people who live with the condition.

One item on the list — the development of so-called “bio-markers” that would enable doctors to track how fast and far Parkinson’s has developed in a patient — is already the subject of an invitation to submit proposals issued by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The Board of Directors of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation has just voted $250,000 towards this project.

Another promising research opportunity on the list involves further studies of gene therapy. The report recommends engaging in gene-therapy research first in animals. Only when the procedure has been shown to be safe would research be extended to human beings.

A fifth research priority is the identification of new animal models for Parkinson’s studies. The final one is learning more about how Parkinson’s affects the systems of the brain that produce dopamine — the chemical “messenger” that is deficient in people who have Parkinson’s.

January Consortium Paved the Way
Much of the material for the NIH report came from comments and suggestions made at a consortium of scientists and leading laypersons, convened by NIH on January 7–8, 2002.
The consortium opened with a report on progress to date from Dr. Diane Murphy, Director of the Parkinson’s program at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Included in Dr. Murphy’s report were financial estimates showing that during the year ending on September 30 (FY 2002), some $200 million will have been spent on Parkinson’s research by the NIH as a whole — almost one-third more than NIH spent two years ago.

Parkinson’s advocates praise the increase, but note that it still falls short of the budget that was prepared by the NIH scientists who drew up the original Agenda in the spring of 2000. This budget, known as a “professional judgment estimate” (PJE), called for additional expenditures of some $300 million by the end of 2002 —$100 million more than NIH says will be spent as of that date.

NIH officials in turn respond with the argument that the PJE is just that — an estimate, not a budget mandate.