Global Health Asia-Pacific September 2020 September 2020 | Page 44

Cover Story
Researchers are now attempting to develop therapeutic approaches that restore brain functions by regenerating neurons
The technique
involved a single
treatment that
inhibits the
gene PTB and
converts mouse
astrocytes,
a type of
brain cell,
into neurons
and increases
their number
by about 30
percent.
might lead to fear, depression, or poor management.
Don’t isolate yourself from family functions, outings,
etc. �o travel,� she told �HA, noting that the M�DA
ran educational and rehabilitative activities that can
help patients become more informed and improve
their quality of life.
She also suggests joining a �D support group, as
sharing experiences and learning from each other
are important to help cope with the condition. If you
can’t find one where you live, check social media.
“There’s a wealth of knowledge there online. Get
connected with friends from all over the world through
PD Facebook groups and learn from their sharing or
input online, e.g., through blogs, �ouTube, etc.,� she
recommended.
Lew also stressed the importance of national-level
lobbying for better healthcare and models of care
for people with �D. In 2012, the M�DA successfully
advocated for PD to be recognised as a disability in
Malaysia, and now patients can apply for disability
status to get free medication from government
hospitals, special rates for public transportation, and
other benefits.
“This is especially helpful for people with
Parkinson’s who are below 60 years of age who do not
enjoy the Senior Citizen privileges,� she said.
Will we ever have a cure for PD?
Drugs like levodopa can replenish dopamine supplies
in the brain, thus reducing or even temporarily
eliminating tremors and other motor symptoms.
But they can’t replace lost nerve cells nor stop the
progression of the disease.
So researchers are now attempting to develop
therapeutic approaches that restore brain functions by
regenerating neurons. In a recent study published in
Nature, scientists from the University of California San
Diego succeeded in eliminating Parkinson’s in mice by
turning brain cells into dopamine-producing neurons.
The technique involved a single treatment that
inhibits the gene PTB and converts mouse astrocytes,
a type of brain cell, into neurons and increases their
number by about 30 percent. This led PD symptoms in
the animals to disappear in the course of three months
with no relapse.
�I was stunned at what I saw,� said study coauthor
Dr William Mobley, a professor of neurosciences at
the UC San Diego School of Medicine, in a press
release. “This whole new strategy for treating
neurodegeneration gives hope that it may be possible
to help even those with advanced disease.�
The results from animal studies, however, don’t
necessarily hold up in human trials, hence more
research will be needed to see whether this technique
can be successfully tested in patients with PD.
“It’s my dream to see this through to clinical trials,
to test this approach as a treatment for Parkinson’s
disease, but also many other diseases where neurons
are lost, such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s
diseases and stroke,� said Dr �iang-Dong �u, study
author and a professor in the department of cellular
and molecular medicine at the UC Sand Diego School
of Medicine, in the press release.
�And dreaming even bigger � what if we could
target PTB to correct defects in other parts of the
brain, to treat things like inherited brain defects��
Indeed, that would be a dream come true for many
sufferers of neurological disorders.
42 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2020 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific.com