Although treatments such as l-DOPA and fetal tissue grafts can alleviate some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the ultimate goal is to reverse the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, which lies at the root of the problem. According to recent newspaper reports, a team from the Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, UK, have made significant progress towards achieving this aim.

The researchers injected glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) into the brains of five patients with Parkinson's. One of the patients, Stephen Waite, described the procedure: “They drilled two holes in the top of my skull into which they fed tiny tubes into the affected part of the brain. These were fed beneath the skin down the back of the neck behind my ears and through my body to connect up with two stainless steel pumps behind the abdominal muscles above the stomach” (The Mirror UK, 24 April).

All five patients reported considerable improvements in their condition. One patient, Roger Nelson, said: “I had the operation on the Friday and by Sunday lunchtime I could smell. Very shortly after I noticed that I could be a bit more articulate. My wife passed a slightly risqué comment just after I got home from hospital, and I burst out laughing, which I hadn't been able to do for several years” (Independent UK, 19 April).

Even the researchers were surprised by their success. Team leader Stephen Gill said: “We thought this drug would take some months or even years to be effective. We found that within a month or two patients were noting significant changes in their ability to do things” (Guardian UK, 19 April). However, they stress that it's still early days, and that it could be several years before the treatment can be used routinely.