News & Media
Neuro News - June 2005
Director's Corner - The Lady or the Tiger?
This is the last Director's Corner of this academic year. I am presenting you with a real problem, one to think about for the next little while, and I offer no solution.
Recently I met with a patient advocate who expressed intense frustration that the process of converting basic science findings into therapies was much too slow. If patients are desperate, suffering, and are willing to take substantial, even great risks, why not allow them to test potential new therapies early?
A dozen years ago I heard the same argument from a European neurologist who brought with him to a multiple sclerosis (MS) conference the following: One was a patient who was seeking a new therapy his wife had read about in the British tabloids that might effect his cure. He was young but already wheelchair bound, suffering immensely and on a rapid downward spiral with his disease - an absolutely irresistible case for experimental therapy. His wife stood by his side, tears streaming down her cheeks, but otherwise a study in stoic desperation. The neurologist offered, "Mr. X is willing to act as a "guinea pig" and I have a hundred others just like him waiting to enter clinical trials, no matter what the risk - he feels that he has nothing to lose. So, if patients like him are willing, why not let them be the first to receive stem cell therapy?"
The other thing he brought with him was the outline, a sketch really, of a potential clinical trial in stem cell therapy for MS.
Most of my colleagues and I were stunned; the stem cell field was in it's embryohood (forgive the pun, but let me note here for the curious that the field is only now in it's infancy, despite major recent advances, but in 2025, when we look back, we will all refer to "The Stem Cell Breakthrough," as if it happened suddenly one Tuesday in May 2006).
According to the 1993 plan for this young man, the stem cells transplanted into his brain were not to be the precursors of the delicate oligodendrocyte - the myelin-forming cell of the central nervous system, and the target of the MS disease process, but the Schwann cell, a more robust peripheral nervous system myelinating cell apparently not susceptible to MS. To avoid problems of immune rejection, the Schwann cells were to be derived from a small nerve in the volunteers' own leg, and then transplanted into his brain at radiographically defined sites where the MS process was taking place. The neurologist's hope, and the patient's expectation, was that remyelination would take place, and he would be able to walk and lead a normal life again. The cell delivery was to be accomplished by catheters inserted into the brain, and after some months, those same regions were to be biopsed to look by electron microscopy for new myelin formation by Schwann cells.
So, this neurologist was challenging us to create a stem cell trial in MS - we supply the science and the cells, he would provide an army of patients. We would form a "Manhattan Project for Stem Cell Therapy in MS."
How would you have responded to his challenge in 1993? What would you have said to the neurologist, and to the patient and his wife? What would you say today?
Let me know.
Please send any comments about the Director's Corner to David Colman
Recent News
Quebec honours Dr. Karpati
Dr. George Karpati has been named to the Ordre national du Québec, the most
prestigious honour bestowed in Quebec. Dr. Karpati holds the Izaak Walton
Killam Chair in Neurology and is a Senior Neurologist and the Coordinator
of the Neuromuscular Group at the Montreal Neurological Institute. He is
known internationally as a leading expert on the diagnosis and treatment of
neuromuscular disorders and has received many honours, including the Order
of Canada, membership in the Royal Society of Canada, and the Lifetime
Achievement Award in Neuromuscular Research and Clinics from the Muscular
Dystrophy Association of Canada.
Dr. Karpati joined the faculty at the MNI in 1967, after obtaining his M.D. from Dalhousie University and completing post-graduate training at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He has made seminal contributions in the study of muscular dystrophy, with special emphasis on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a lethal genetic disorder caused by a deficiency of the cytoskeletal muscle protein, dystrophin. New members of the Ordre national du Québec will be inducted at a ceremony in Quebec City on June 22, where Dr. Karpati will be joined by three other colleagues from McGill- Drs. Ratna Ghosh, Emil Skamene and Mark Wainberg.
Petrides delivers prestigious lecture
Dr. Michael Petrides delivered the prestigious Guarantors of Brain 2005
Lecture at the National Hospital, Queen's Square, London, UK. Each year an
internationally renowned neuroscientist is invited to deliver this lecture
which is funded by the journal Brain. Dr. Petrides’ work at the MNI
focuses on the function of the frontal and parietal cortex in cognitive
activity.
Nursing excellence
The Annual Neuroscience Nursing Awards of Excellence were presented in May
to nurses working at the Neuro and the Montreal General Hospital. These
peer-nominated awards are given to underscore the important work done by
the nursing staff, and to recognize their leadership and contribution to
research, education and patient care. Mrs Patricia O'Connor, Associate
Director of Nursing for Neurosciences, and Ann Lynch, MUHC Director of
Nursing, bestowed these honours: Research and Leadership Awards to the
Staff on 3 South, Neurology; Nursing Practice Award to Mélanie Sauvé, staff
nurse on 4 Surgery; and Partner in Practice Awards to Louise Lajoie,
Patient Attendant on 3 North-east and Esther Pennycooke, Administrative
Technician in Nursing Office.
Neuroacanthocytosis Symposium success
Dr. Eva Andermann and colleagues from around the world organized the Second
International Neuroacanthocytosis Symposium which took place at the Neuro
in April. Researchers from 10 countries and from specialties such as
movement disorders neurology, neurosurgery, molecular biology, hematology,
and neurogenetics discussed this rare group of neurodegenerative disorders.
Dr. Joseph B. Martin, Dean of Harvard Medical School, delivered the
keynote address on mechanisms of neurodegeneration.
Man in Motion
Rick Hansen visited the Neuro recently for “A conversation with Rick
Hansen...accelerating improvements to the quality of life of people with
Spinal Cord Injury”. Mr. Hansen spoke about his experiences living with
spinal cord injury (SCI), and his foundation’s mission to support research
and to improve the lives of people with SCI. The Wheels in Motion events
being held across Canada in mid June will raise funds for this cause.
Thanks for your support
Dr. Daria Trojan, Director of the Post Polio Syndrome (PPS) Clinic at the
Neuro, spoke at The Polio Québec Magic Show in mid May. The event,
sponsored by Magiciens sans frontiers, raised $15,000 to support research
into this syndrome and to assist people with PPS.
Upcoming Events
Stroke Public Lecture, June 21
Stroke Management and Prevention will be the topic of presentations by Dr.
Robert Coté, Director Stroke Prevention Clinic, MUHC, Ms. Beth Robertson,
Occupational Therapist, Stroke Team and Ms. Judith Robillard Shultz,
Speech-Language Pathologist. The lecture will take place on June 21, 2005
at 7p.m. in the JSL Brown Auditorium, Royal Victoria Hospital.
BRAMS June 20
BRAMS, International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research, a
joint project of the McGill and Université de Montréal will be launched
June 20. The project, co-directed by MNI’s Dr. Robert Zatorre and UM’s Dr.
Isabelle Peretz, will unite researchers from across Montreal and beyond to
focus on understanding the neural substrates of human auditory cognition
and the processing of music. This community of researchers in Montreal is
large and makes significant contributions in this field. Through BRAMS,
they will catalyze further exciting work.
Neuron-Glia Interaction Symposium, June 20-22
Dr. David Colman, Director, Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill
University, and Dr. Richard Robitaille, Groupe de recherche sur le système
nerveux central of Université de Montréal, will host a scientific symposium
on Neuron-glia interaction. Twenty speakers from North America and Europe
will address this topic which has relevance to Multiple Sclerosis and other
neurological diseases. For more information about the Symposium or to
register, please see http://www.crsn.umontreal.ca/XXVIIs/ or
contact Mme Chantal Nault at the Université de Montréal,
514-343-6366, Chantal.Nault@umontreal.ca.
Fall Events – Mark your calendar
ALS Symposium, September 9-10
A scientific symposium on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis will be hosted by
the Fondation Andre Delambre and the Neuro on September 9-10, 2005.
Scientists and clinicians from around the world will meet at the
Neuro to discuss research findings and clinical drug trials relevant to
this disease. There is no fee but participants are asked to register. For
more information, see www.fondationandredelambre.com
Neuro Convocation, September 12
The 2nd Annual Neuro Convocation and Lifetime Achievement Awards Ceremony
will be September 12, 2005. Please join us in honouring and celebrating the
Neuro’s finest!
Congratulations to…
Dr. Donatella Tampieri who was promoted to Full Professor
in the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Diagnostic Radiology,
Faculty of Medicine.
Mary Filer, known for the Neuro’s mural “The Advance of
Neurology” and glass sculpture “Neuressence” who was elected to the Royal
Canadian Academy of Arts. Ms. Filer worked as a nurse at the Neuro under
Dr. Penfield’s leadership for several years before turning her talents to
art fulltime. Ms. Filer, now living in Vancouver, holds an honorary degree
from Simon Fraser University, and the Silver Medal for Architectural
Stained Glass from the Royal Canadian Architectural Institute.
Condolences to …
To the family and friends of Dr. Clara Zhao who passed away on June 2, 2005 at the age of 101. Dr. Zhao’s husband, Dr. Yi-Cheng Zhao, is known as China’s first neurosurgeon. He trained at the Neuro in the 1930’s with Dr. Penfield and returned to China to establish the Neurosurgery Unit in Beijing and the Tianjin Neurological Institute which has trained over 200 neurosurgeons. Ms. Tian Ying, grand-daughter of Mrs Zhao, recently completed a Masters degree at McGill and visited the Neuro to donate a biography of her grandmother to the library. During her emotional testimony she impressed upon us the important role that the Neuro has played in the life of her family.
The family and friends of Dr. Emile Berger who mourn his sudden death on May 20, 2005. Dr. Berger was a member of the MNH's Department of Neurosurgery and an associate member of the Council of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists.
Director - David R. Colman, PhD
Senior Management - Mark Angle, MD; Tom Gevas; Marilyn Kaplow; Elizabeth
Kofron, PhD; Patricia O'Connor; Catherine Rowe
MNI Bulletin Editors: Elizabeth Kofron, PhD & Sandra McPherson,
PhD
Please send any items for the MNI Bulletin to Sandra McPherson or Beth Kofron.
