دانشمندان برای اولین بار ثابت کردند که چگونه "گذرگاه های" ویژه ای در مغز حرکت های ما را کنترل می کند، و به این ترتیب دری گشوده شد تا درمان های پیشگامانه ای برای بهبودی مهارت های حرکتی مبتلایان به بیماری پارکینسون یافت شود.

این اکتشاف همچنین می تواند برای یافتن درمان ها و داروهایی جهت بهتر سازی زندگی روزانه کسانی که از اختلال های مشابهی مانند بیماری هانتینگتن و تورت سندروم  رنج می برند نیز مورد استفاده قرار گیرد.

اگرچه این پژوهش در مرحله ابتدایی خود قرار  دارد اما برای [مبتلایان به پارکینسون در همه جهان و از جمله]  120000 نفری که هم اکنون در بریتانیا از آن رنج می برند امیدبخش است.  بیماری پارکینسون با کسری دوپامین ارتباط دارد که در گویایی مبتلایان اختلال ایجاد کرده و کنترل آنها بر حرکت هایشان را محدود می سازد.

دانشمندان در اوایل این ماه اعلام داشتند بعد از آن که توانسته اند بر عوارض جانبی ناتوان ساز یک درمان نویدبخش، که نه سال قبل آزمایش های آن بر روی انسان به کنار نهاده شده بود، غلبه کنند، طرح هایی برای آغاز دوباره پژوهش بر روی آن دارند.

در آخرین مطالعه، که توسط موسسه بیماری های عصب شناسانه گلادستون و دانشگاه استنفورد در ایالات متحده هدایت شد، دانشمندان از روش های ژنتیکی استفاده کردند تا "گذرگاه هایی" – یا مدارهایی – در مغز موش ها بسازند که نسبت به نور واکنش نشان دهد.  ...

Parkinson's Hope as Scientists Ease Symptoms in Mice

Parkinson's sufferers could be in line for new treatments after research showed that switching on particular cells in the brain eases symptoms of the degenerative condition.

By Matthew Moore
Telegraph.co.uk  | Published: 7:00PM BST 07 Jul 2010

Scientists have established for the first time how specific "pathways" in the brain control our movements, opening the door for pioneering therapies to improve the motor skills of sufferers.

The discovery could also be used to develop treatments and drugs to improve the day-to-day lives of people with similar disorders including Huntington's disease and Tourette's syndrome, according to academics.

While the research is still at an early stage, the study's results are the latest boost for the 120,000 people in Britain who currently suffer from Parkinson's.

The condition, which is connected to a shortage of dopamine, impairs patients' speech and limits their control over movement.

Earlier this month scientists announced plans to restart research into a promising treatment for Parkinson's disease after overcoming a debilitating side effect that caused human tests to be abandoned nine years ago.

In the latest study by the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) and Stanford University in the US, scientists used genetic techniques to make certain "pathways" – or circuits – in the brains of mice responsive to light.

The cells in these pathways could then be turned on and off by illuminating a laser shined through a hair-thin fibre optic cable inserted into the rodents.

It has long been believed, but never proven, that our movement is controlled by balancing the activity of two distinct circuits in the brain – the so-called "stop" and "go" pathways.

Dr Anatol Kreitzer of the GIND, who led the study, said: "Scientists had identified and diagrammed these circuits in the late 80s and early 1990s, but there had been no way to test their function in animal models."

The researchers found that by stimulating the "stop" cells in the mice's brains, they could mimic the affects of Parkinson's disease. Conversely, switching on the "go" cells in mice with Parkinson's-like symptoms had an instant positive impact on their condition.

Dr Kreitzer said: "We generated mice that lacked dopamine, and these mice showed many of the same symptoms found in humans with Parkinson's disease. But when we activated the 'go' pathway in these mice, they began to move around normally again.

"We restored all of their motor deficits with this treatment, even though the mice still lacked dopamine."

Dr Kreitzer added: "It's not something we can do for just a second. We can do this for as long as the laser is on."

The results of the study are published in this week's edition of Nature, the science journal. Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's, affecting around one in 14 people aged over 65.