Transplanted Cells Suffer From Parkinson's Continuous Comeback

Recent studies show that treatment solutions for Parkinson’s disease must be much improved because some traces of brain damage linked to the disease were found spreading into the transplanted tissue. This suggests that the disease presents an ongoing process which constantly inflicts damage.

Initially the test results were considered very discouraging but as Dr. C. Warren Olanow, quoted by Forbes, explained:  "While, on the one hand, these results may sound disappointing, this information is crucially important if we are to develop better therapies for Parkinson’s disease. The more knowledge we gain about the nature of the disease, the better our chances to find the cause of why cells degenerate and to develop a treatment that can protect them." And also: "These findings also do not mean that transplant strategies such as stem cells cannot be made to work -- our findings just represent another obstacle that will have to be overcome."

Another similar opinion was stated by Dr. Ole Isacson of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts, who was also involved in the studies. He was quoted by Reuters saying: "I think these findings lend much optimism to future work," showing a certain excitement regarding the coming up investigations.

Parkinson’s disease is responsible for affecting more than a million people in the United States alone. It develops through the death of dopamine-producing brain cells, which is a message-carrying chemical linked to movement.

Up to this point there have been no permanent solutions for defeating it, only treatments and drugs delaying the symptoms.