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Researchers admit gene therapy hopes for cerebral palsy haven't materialized

Canadian Press
Jun. 14, 2006

It has been two decades since gene therapy offered first hope of treatment for children with cerebral palsy but the reality has yet to be realized, admit researchers.
Stem cells, gene therapy and deep brain electrical stimulation are exciting researchers but some question whether these innovations will turn out to be real therapies.
"We've been promised gene therapy for the last 20 years and it still hasn't materialized," British pediatric neurologist Peter Baxter said Tuesday at the 10th International Child Neurology Congress being held in Montreal.
"But there's lot of effort and a lot gifted people really trying to find better ways to help children achieve more," said Baxter, editor of the Developmental Medical and Child Neurology Journal, and co-chair of a panel on advances in cerebral palsy.
Stem cell growth is often hard to direct or control, Baxter said.
Another line of therapy under investigation involves inserting a reed-thin wire deep into the brain for electrical stimulation.
It's been used on adults with Parkinson's disease, he said, but it's not known whether it's effective with young patients with cerebral palsy.
"It's an exciting, possible treatment that may turn out, or in five years time we'll say, `That was a no-no,'"Baxter said.
Premature birth is a major risk factor, but little is known about the causes of cerebral palsy, an umbrella term for a complex condition that affects 15 million children worldwide.
The disorder touches two children out of 1,000, so it's a huge problem that requires a global effort, said Veena Kalra, head of medical neurology at All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India.
Most treatment is still directed at improving a child's quality of life.
Milivoj Velickovic Perat of the University Pediatric Hospital, Ljublijana, Slovenia, dismissed the possibility of stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy.
He also warned against fake remedies as well as treatments that "were not proven effective" including biofeedback, acupuncture and the controversial hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which involves going into a sealed chamber and breathing air saturated with a higher percentage of oxygen.
Anyone can understand a parent's desperate desire to help their child, said Michael Shevell, a pediatric neurologist and congress chairman.
But after a double-blind, placebo-controlled Quebec study showed no difference between a group of children that received a placebo and those getting hyperbaric oxygen, Shevell said that "on a scientific basis, I cannot recommend it."

Source: http://www.therapeuticsdaily.com/news/article.cfm ?contentValue=952870&contentType=sentryarticle&channelID=30

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