http://www.burrillreport.com/article...esponses_.html
...Skin cells collected by the researchers from patients with genetically inherited forms of Parkinson’s and reprogrammed into neurons showed mitochondrial abnormalities and responded to different treatments in different ways depending on the type of Parkinson's each patient had. The results of the research suggest that induced pluripotent stem cells, which are adult cells that have been reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells, could be used to help define subgroups of patients for clinical trials, says the NIH.

Using those induced pluripotent stem cells-derived neural cells as sensitive models for measuring vulnerability to chemical stressors and responses to candidate neuro-protective molecules, say the study’s authors, may help to identify causes of Parkinson’s disease and potential new drugs and treatments to fight the disorder...