Biomedicine. Combating Parkinson's disease--step three.
The degeneration of dopamine neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway of the brain results in the debilitating motor deficits of Parkinson's disease. In a Perspective, Olson discusses a new study (Kordower et al.) demonstrating that injection of a lentiviral vector containing the gene encoding GDNF (a trophic factor for dopamine neurons) into the nigrostriatal pathway of monkeys with PD prevents neuronal loss and reverses some of the motor deficits of this disease.
Olson
L
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Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. lars.olson@neuro.ki.se
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D006801:Humans; D016086:Lentivirus / Q000235:genetics; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009434:Neural Pathways; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism
C495039:GDNF protein, human; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D004298:Dopamine