"Advances in stem cell engineering offer to replace what is lost in Parkinson's disease,"

May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Stem Cell Foundation (NSCF) and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) have announced a partnership to fund development of a cutting-edge therapy to replace the dopamine neurons that degenerate in Parkinson's disease, the second most common brain disease after Alzheimer's.

[DianeJ]

RoyProp, thank you for all the hopeful information you offer. I always look forward to your interesting items and keeping abreast of the research.

[phillip_eric]

I am scheduled for stem cell therapy on the 13th of June. I'm so excited I can hardly wait and from what I've learned so far, I think it will greatly help. I am going to the Stemgenex clinic in La Jolla, CA. I will report back after the tre atment and as I hopefully realize results from the treatment.

[annmariebaird in reply to phillip_eric]

That is so exciting! Please do let us know!

[laglag in reply to phillip_eric]

Wonderful! Good luck to you! Are you in the study RoyProp mentioned or is this a different research project?

[Littlerody in reply to phillip_eric]

Oh I'm so excited for you. I too applied yesterday. From the locations I've looked into even here in Florida they seem the most credible professional and knowledgeable.

Please let us know how it goes. May I ask where you are travelIng from? Thanks and best of luck to you. Judy b

[phillip_eric]

No, Stemgenex is a company in California that treats 8 different diseases, Parkinson's being one. It is a for profit company that has had tremendous results. They are very selective concerning the applicants they accept. All their clients report at least expected results if not results that exceed their expectations. They have a good website, stemgenex.com, if you want to check it out.

Will certainly report back after my treatment.

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MJFF believes that stem cell therapies should be proven effective before making it to market. The Foundation signed a coalition letter opposing legislation that would give conditional approval to stem cell therapies that have proven safety but not yet efficacy. Read the letter opposing the REGROW Act.

michaeljfox.org/foundation/...

[gloriabus]

A good review of stem cell therapies can be found in the paper “Developing Stem Cell Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease: Waiting Until the Time Is Right” by Prof Roger Barker of Cambridge Univ. who also cautions against proceeding too quickly to human trials in a drive to commercialise the field.

See DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2...

He notes that “over the last 30 years there have many attempts to better deliver dopamine to the parkinsonian brain using cell-based therapies and many lessons have been learned from these studies. These lessons need to be remembered as we move toward an era of stem-cell-based therapies and can best be captured and discussed around four key questions:

• 1.What is the evidence that dopaminergic cell replacement therapies work in PD?

• 2.What characteristics should the stem-cell-derived dopaminergic neurons possess?

• 3.What should the “first in man” trial with such a cell look like?

• 4.Will such a therapy ultimately be competitive with the other dopaminergic-based treatments already available for PD?”

The paper addresses each of these questions.