More Gene Therapy For Parkinson’s

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Via EurekAlert, more good news of progress in the gene therapy field: "Research has shown that mutant forms of the alpha-synuclein gene, as well as too much alpha-synuclein protein, are involved in the development [of] Parkinson's disease in some families. For this research, the Bohn lab combined a recently developed technology called 'RNA interference' with gene therapy to turn off alpha-synuclein in dopamine neurons. RNA interference is a sophisticated method to selectively turn off one gene in a cell, leaving others unaffected. By placing the RNA interference into a crippled, non-disease-causing virus, scientists in the Bohn lab have been able to deliver the RNA interference tool to the brain of rats and turn off the alpha-synuclein protein in neurons. ... This is the first step in developing a new therapy for Parkinson's disease based on molecular knowledge of the disease."

Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/nu-gt011806.php