BDNF in Parkinson's

[Neal Prakash]

Ngf has been used in a clinical trial with one alzheimer's patient [Olson 
et al. 1992]. the results were promising but far from definitive (i'm 
still waiting for the article myself, so i can't give you more details).

as for bdnf, bdnf may hold more promise than ngf for both AD and PD, 
but the big 
problem is drug delivery.  there are truncated trkB receptors all over 
the place that suck up bdnf by most routes of delivery, so you 
need either megadoses or a special delivery mode (cannula, carrier 
molecules...). bdnf also has many side effects in animals--weight loss, 
analgesia, and probably an increase of inhibitory activity in the cortex 
(Gaba, serotonin).  so that is why (to my knowledge) bdnf has a while 
before any clinical trials will be started.

sorry for no references for bdnf--just look on medline or email me again 
if you want to verify one of my statements.

good luck david. if you don't mind, why do you ask?

On Mon, 26 Feb 1996, David Cassarino wrote:

> I have read that BDNF has been shown in cell culture and animal
> experiments to protect substantia nigra neurons from death (due
> to MPTP, OHDA, etc).
> I was wondering if there have been any clinical trials of BDNF
> in PD (or Alzheimer's) patients (I tried looking for this on
> medline but found little).
> 
> Thanks for any info
> -- 
> David S. Cassarino              "The mind is not a vessel to be filled
> MSTP 2nd Year                    but a fire to be kindled."               
> UVA School of Medicine           -Plutarch
> dsc9w at virginia.edu          
> 
> 



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