The present invention is based on the discovery that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease are due to lack of a disorder-specific neurotrophic hormone. Diagnosis is accomplished by assaying hormones specific for a particular neuronal network or system: the motor neurotrophic hormones from muscle in the motor neural system are used to diagnose and treat ALS, dopamine neurotrophic hormones from striatum in the nigrostriatal neural system are used to diagnose and treat parkinsonism, and cholinergic neurotrophic hormones released from the cortex and hippocampus which are specific for cholinergic neurons of the nucleus basalis and septal nucleus are used to diagnose and treat Alzheimer's disease. With tissue culture, the presence or absence of specific neurotrophic hormones can be assessed in ALS, parkinsonism, and Alzheimer disease. If there is a deficiency, extracted and purified neurotrophic hormones specific to the particular neuronal network or system can be injected in ALS and Alzheimer disease and in parkinsonism.
Dopaminergic Neurotrophic Factor (DNTF), derived from cells of the peripheral nervous system, is administered to patients suffering from Parkinson's Disease in an amount effective to facilitate survival of substantia nigra dopamine nerve cells.
A method of treating humans suffering from central nervous system diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, senile dementia. The treatment consists of inducing into the patient's blood stream at least one from the group consisting of: sex hormones and anabolic hormones. Growth hormone is also be used in those patients in advanced stages of the disease, or in those patients where it has been determined that a low level of growth hormone is present. A method of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia, by the determination of the levels of the hormones somatotropin (human growth hormone) and somatomedin-C (IGF-I) after the administration of the Aroonsakul-Allen provocative test is also disclosed. Blood-sera samples are taken at certain time periods after the administration of L-Dopa, and the samples are tested for the levels of these hormones. These levels are then compared against the levels for normal subjects.
A method is disclosed for quantifying the amounts of physiological metals required to eliminate aluminum from the blood serum of a human patient. The preferred method uses a computer to calculate corrective amounts of deficinet physiological metals required to restore physiological saline conductivity reduced by the presence of aluminum.
The invention provides human- or rat-derived neurotrophic peptides and derivatives thereof, precursor peptides thereof, genes encoding the same, transformants containing recombinant expression vectors bearing the genes, and compositions comprising as an effective ingredient these neurotrophic peptides or derivatives thereof. The neurotrophic peptide or its derivatives of the present invention have a neurotrophic activity and are useful for the treatment of neuro-degenerative disorders and dementia.
