Parkinson's breakthrough: Pioneering procedure in Bristol

IT looks like something from a sci-fi movie but the process of using a port in the brain to inject treatments is already a reality for some Parkinson's disease patients in Bristol.

The pioneering procedure being carried out at Frenchay Hospital is currently in its research phase but doctors hope it could offer a reliable treatment for people with the disease. Now the team behind the trial is looking for 36 people with Parkinson's to take part in the next phase to see just what an impact it can have on reducing the symptoms and potentially halting the disease.

Parkinson's develops when a lack of the chemical dopamine causes nerve cells within the brain to die. Previous research including work carried out at Frenchay suggests that a protein called glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), delivered directly into the brain using a port behind the ear, could actually halt or slow down the progression of Parkinson's and improve the symptoms, which include stiffness, slowness of movement and tremor.

Patients who sign up to the trial will have surgery to install the delivery system and the port in the brain, through which either the protein infusion or a placebo will be delivered once a month. For the second nine months all participants will be given the GDNF protein.

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The study follows a smaller safety trial in six people with Parkinson's and has been made possible due to funding in the region of 2.3 million from charities Parkinson's UK and the Cure Parkinson's Trust.

It is also being supported by a US company which is funded by a major research grant from the Michael J Fox Foundation, set up by the Hollywood actor, who has the disease.

Neurosurgeon Professor Steven Gill, who developed the delivery method for the treatment, said: "One of the biggest problems facing many researchers in the past has been finding a way to get past the blood/brain barrier, which prevents materials from blood entering the brain.

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Parkinson's breakthrough: Pioneering procedure in Bristol