Hello,
I went thru the paper published by Dr. L a couple of times last night. This is what I gathered and understood from it. Of course, data is data and can be interpreted in any way. Is the glass half full or half empty kind of scene!

The stem cells came from adult brain, so they are different from ES cells which is a good thing. They have less chances of turning into cancerous cells.
Then these cells were (I couldnt get the # of cells he obtained) grown in vitro for 9 months with factors. This is a very difficult task and I am impressed they could do that. My concerns would be after 9 months of being in culture, are they still "autologous"?
These cells are a mix of various types of cells including glial and variety of neurons; that might be the reason for success

It helped the patient for 3 years, and by 5 years the effect is gone.

This observation alone says lot about the potential of stem cell therapy.
Whatever mechanisms operating to destroy neurons in the first place are still operational and destroy newly implanted cells. The cure is not for life, and we need refills on a regular basis. I am not sure if that is a viable option.

I am optimistic about this line of therapy but also feel we are still a long way off from the cure for PD>

Girija