A new study released Thursday by US researchers suggests that, when electrically stimulated the spinal cord of mice and rats that had depleted levels of dopamine, the chemical that is lacking in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease, their behaviors appeared to resemble to those in healthy animals, giving hope that one day the experiment might prove efficient in humans too.

 

The study was published in the 20 March issue of the journal Science. It was the work of senior investigator Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, the Anne W Deane Professor of Neuroscience at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina and his colleagues.

 

Together, they developed a prosthetic device that delivers electrical stimulation to the dorsal column in the spinal cord, which is a main pathway for carrying tactile information from the body to the brain. When turned on, the slow, stiff movements of mice and rats depleted of dopamine in order to mimic the effects of Parkinson’s were replaced with the active behavior of healthy animals.

 

The animals were 26 times more active when the device was used without additional medication. When the device was associated with medication, only two doses were needed to produce movement compared to five doses when the medication was used by itself.

 

“Our device works as an interface with the brain to produce a neural state permissive for locomotion, facilitating immediate and dramatic recovery of movement. Following stimulation, the neurons desynchronize, similar to the firing pattern that you would see when a healthy mouse is continuously moving,” co-author of the study Per Patersson said.

 

“If we can demonstrate that the device is safe and effective over the long term in primates and then humans, virtually every patient could be eligible for this treatment in the near future,” said Prof. Nicolelis.

 

The device imitates other spinal cord stimulators currently used to treat chronic pain if it is approved for use on Parkinson’s patients, he added.

In fact, the researchers are already working with a team from Brazil’s Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience in Natal, to test the stimulator in primate models of Parkinson’s, after which they hope to be able to start clinical trials.

 

Parkinson’s disease is responsible for effecting more than a million people in the United States. It is estimated that 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. The condition develops through the death of dopamine-producing brain cells, which is a message-carrying chemical linked to movement. Up to this point, there have been no permanent solutions for defeating it, only treatments and drugs delaying the symptoms.

 

The condition causes impairment of the affected person’s motor skills, speech and several other functions. It is characterized by muscle rigidity and tremor and can often come to render the patient incapable of moving. While the condition usually develops after the age of 65, 15 percent of those diagnosed are under 50.