This news seems is the buzz in the Young Onset groups, but while I hate to rain on the parade some pretty big questions come to mind...

This guy is still working with embryonic stem cells and is saying three to four years before human trials. Well this sounds fantastic, but before this becomes a viable treatment have they decided who will supply the embryonic cells? Or are they cloning? If he expects to offer them as treatment in less then five years, shouldn't we be hotly debating the ethics and seeing that related legislation is passed now?

I stil have concern over autoimmune aspects and until he reveals how they got over the hump of controlling cellular over-achievers...still it beats taking pills all day.

My bet is on the induced pluripotent stem cells and recently discovered work by Marius Wernig of Stanford U. He actually published a few years ago (2008) on results from testing his talents on creating cells here:

Neurons derived from reprogrammed fibroblasts functionally integrate into the fetal brain and improve symptoms of rats with Parkinson's disease

Werning points out how stem therapy, whether embryonic or induced, might be required more than once in a PWP's life...until disease modifying treatments are discovered. For the most part it seems that we are near having half a cure!!

Laura