HEALTH UPDATE: gene therapy for Parkinson results promising

The first attempt at gene therapy against Parkinson's disease has yielded promising results and is safe, according to early data from this ground-breaking experiment. The pilot study, conducted among 11 men and one woman in New York, marks the first-ever use of a "Trojan horse" technique against this tragic disease.
It entails taking a gene and tucking it inside a disabled cold virus, which is then injected into a key area of the brain. The harmless virus "infects" the local cells and thus stealthily delivers the corrective piece of genetic code. The 12 volunteers, all of whom have advanced Parkinson's, showed significant improvement in trembling, jerkiness and other symptoms, and none had any side effects, according to an assessment carried out a year after the operation.