They all say the same thing although the source listed first above has the most detail. Not sure what to make of it, as Laura pointed out, what's their point? PWP have to take ldopa, there's currently not much in the way of options if you want to be able to move.

Additionally, I don't believe salamanders even have a BBB, so why they used that creature for their research is a mystery. To my knowledge, the only mammal with a brain structure like ours, meaning and including the complex BBB, is the Rhesus monkey.[/QUOTE]




http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0408075150.htm


As in mammals, the formation of neurons in the salamander mid-brain is virtually non-existent under normal circumstances. Therefore by studying the salamander, scientists can understand how the production of new nerve cells can be resumed once it has stopped, and how it can be stopped when no more neurons are needed. It is precisely in this regulation that dopamine seems to play a vital part. Many observations also suggest that similar mechanisms are active in other animal species too. Further comparative studies can shed light on how neurotransmitters control stem cells in the brain, knowledge that is of potential use in the development of therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

"One way of trying to repair the brain in the future is to stimulate the stem cells that exist there," says Dr Simon. "This is one of the perspectives from which our study is interesting and further work ought to be done on whether L-dopa, which is currently used in the treatment of Parkinson's, could prevent such a process in other species, including humans. Another perspective is how medicines that block dopamine signalling and that are used for other diseases, such as psychoses, affect stem cell dynamics in the brain."