-- Four-Year Study Uses SPECT Neuroimaging Technology to Demonstrate Rates of Neurodegeneration May Be Affected By Medication.

New Haven, April 2, 2002 -- A new study published today in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) by the Parkinson Study Group and led by researchers from The Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (IND) suggests that brain imaging of the dopamine system may be used to detect relative differences in the rate of brain degeneration caused by Parkinson’s disease after treatment with standard anti-Parkinson medications. Using SPECT (single photon emission computerized tomography), an imaging technology, to measure changes in the brain, the IND research team found that patients who started treatment with pramipexole, a dopamine agonist, demonstrated a significant reduction in the rate of loss of striatal [¹²³I] ß-CIT uptake, a marker of dopamine neurons, as compared to patients initiating treatment with levodopa.

“Neuroimaging techniques such as SPECT are providing researchers and clinicians with important new methods to diagnose and possibly evaluate the effectiveness and best use of medical therapies to treat neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease,” according to Kenneth Marek, MD, President of IND. “While there remains debate about treatment for early Parkinson's Disease -- and all treatment should be individualized to meet the needs of the patient -- this study adds important new information to the growing body of knowledge in the early treatment of Parkinson’s disease.”

Parkinson’s disease affects approximately 1 million people in the United States, causing tremor, muscle rigidity, slowed motion, shuffling gait and a loss of facial expression. It is the second most common chronic neurological disorder in older adults after Alzheimer’s.

IND was established in 2001 as an independent non-profit institute to further research into Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. IND research is focused on newly developed brain imaging biomarkers, which provide researchers an unprecedented view of neurological function and disease progression. IND is leading multi-center studies in collaboration with more than fifty neurological centers in North America to assess changes in brain imaging with drugs that may modify disease as well as treat symptoms. With biomarkers, IND researchers are able to assess the degree of neurological degeneration in Parkinson’s sufferers. This technology provides a quantitative and objective method to identify drugs that may protect nerve cells from damage or even restore function to damaged nerve cells. Several potentially protective or restorative agents are currently under investigation by IND.
This material is embargoed from use in any publication until April 2, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Further information about this study and IND can be obtained by contacting Jack Mariotti at 203-401-4300 or by visiting the IND website at www.indd.org.