Parkinson's disease 'could be eradicated' by new development

Healthcare News
27/08/2009
A method of changing genetic engineering to stop hereditary genes being passed on could completely eradicate the likes of dementia and Parkinson's disease.

Scientists in the US have come up with an idea which could see such things as dementia and Parkinson's disease being eradicated.

Prevention is certainly better than the cure in the eyes of the team from the Oregon Health and Science University, which has successfully tested a way of preventing a mother from passing on faulty DNA to a child, using monkeys as the test subject.

The technique means genetically-sound children may need to be born with genes from three parents, as an egg donor is needed alongside the natural mother and father.

Using the concept, the team removed mitochondrial diseases from monkeys, resulting in four healthy babies with two called Tracker and Mito.

Commenting on the groundbreaking idea, lead scientist Dr Shoukhrat Mitalipov said the treatment should now be tested on humans, adding: "It is estimated that every 30 minutes a child is born with a devastating disease and I believe we could prevent that."

Earlier this week, Scientists at the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam discovered a mathematical method known as graph theory to track communications between different parts of the brain in dementia patients, providing more hope for those affected by the disease.

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