Lately, I have been reading about a lot of research being done in an effort to find a cure or at least better medication for Parkinson’ Disease. The more I read and understand about stem cells, ZFP Therapeutic, and so on, the more I think they have gotten the cart ahead of the horse. Here we are 200+ years after naming this disease and are no closer to knowing what causes it than they were 200 years ago.

I’m not a medical researcher, doctor, or even an orderly in a hospital. My background is in engineering. I by all means do not want to take away from any of the research going on. It is important and may prove useful someday. There are some things I don’t understand about the current research being done. How can you cure or find better medication (fix) if you don’t know how or what is causing the problem? It seems to me that a major step in the troubleshooting procedure has been overlooked.

Here is what I mean. Let’s say you want to go out and start your car. This is something we are all familiar with. You get in and put the key in the ignition switch, turn it and the car usually starts. Why? Because if everything is working right, there is a sequence of things that have to happen for the engine to start. As you turn the key, electrical power from your battery is sent to the coil and starter. The starter turns the engine over to get the pistons moving into their compression stroke. Gas and air are supplied through the carburetor or fuel injection system. Due to the timing of the engine, a spark is sent from the coil to the spark plug at the correct moment. The gas ignites in the cylinder and drives the piston down for the exhaust stroke. If everything is working correctly your car starts. One little deviation from this sequence and the car will not start. You must find what is not working to fix the problem before the car will start.

I know my example is a very simple one but I think it gets my point across. I understand the brain and human body are far more complex than a car engine. However, the idea is the same. Identify the problem then fix it. Researchers and doctors openly admit they do not know the cause of PD. Then why do they think it can be cured or fixed without knowing the cause? I believe it is time to change directions.

While stem cells and gene therapy are fantastic cutting edge science, they are not providing the results required. This is what I believe needs to be done. Using a healthy body, they need to go back to the very basics of the human body and examine each and every system, process, function and sequence until it is fully understood how it works. Then take a body with PD and compare each item with the healthy body. When a problem is identified make the needed repair or correction and document it. They must find a cause before it can be fixed or cured.

That being said there are other questions to be answered. Why is my PD different than yours? Why do my medications work for me and not you? Why do I have tremor and you don’t? I believe if they can locate and identify a cause they will also be able to answer these questions.

This is only my opinion. Due to my limited knowledge of the human body and how it works I have more than likely over simplified what I think needs to be done. I would like to know what you think about where research is today. Are they on the right track?

GregD