[lurkingforacure]

Just saw this, am hoping it's true, wanted to share...here's the link...share your thoughts if you wish:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/p...-cure-jannetta

[paula_w]

Haven't heard about it till now but i'm in pittsburgh for two more weeks so i'll see if i can find anything out. sounds like it's hush hush. Although not confirmed, they say it's this guy.....neurosurgeon..so here is more about him.

http://www.wpahs.org/AGH/neuro/jannetta/index.htm

i like this quote:
Our mission grows from a vision of the relationship between healthcare consumers and their care providers, and of the patient's rights in this relationship. We believe patients should be encouraged to participate actively as partners in their health care management team. The better informed the patient, the more likely it is that diagnosis will be timely and accurate, and treatment will be effective. Likewise, there is much truth in an old saying: an ounce of prevention (or early detection) is worth a pound of cure.


paula

Originally Posted by lurkingforacure

Just saw this, am hoping it's true, wanted to share...here's the link...share your thoughts if you wish:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/p...-cure-jannetta

[made it up]

Believe it when I see it!

[paula_w]

agree! and will let them know what i think about false claims!

paula

Originally Posted by made it up

Believe it when I see it!

[ZucchiniFlower]

Neurology. 2000 Aug 22;55(4):565-9.

Transplantation of cultured human neuronal cells for patients with stroke.

Kondziolka D, Wechsler L, Goldstein S, Meltzer C, Thulborn KR, Gebel J, Jannetta P, DeCesare S, Elder EM, McGrogan M, Reitman MA, Bynum L.

Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, PA 15213, USA.

Transplantation of cultured neuronal cells is safe in animal models and improves motor and cognitive deficits in rats with stroke.

The authors studied the safety and feasibility of human neuronal cellular transplantation in patients with basal ganglia stroke and fixed motor deficits, including 12 patients (aged 44 to 75 years) with an infarct 6 months to 6 years previously (stable for at least 2 months).

Serial evaluations (12 to 18 months) showed no adverse cell-related serologic or imaging-defined effects. The total European Stroke Scale score improved in six patients (3 to 10 points), with a mean improvement 2.9 points in all patients (p = 0. 046).

Six of 11 PET scans at 6 months showed improved fluorodeoxyglucose uptake at the implant site. Neuronal transplantation is feasible in patients with motor infarction.

************************************************** ******************************************

INTERESTING BOOK:

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN TRANSPLANTED NEURAL STEM CELLS AND HOST TISSUE: A TWO-WAY STREET

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...BIuSs3-YoWN3NA

[lurkingforacure]

If Janetta's treatment consists of transplanted neuronal cells, isn't this what Dr. Michael Levesque did in 1999 for Dennis Turner, who testified before Congress in 2004 about it essentially putting his PD into remission? Or is it more like what Janetts has done for other disorders, the decompression treatment?

My readings about Janetta to date indicate that he is world-reknowned for at least one treatment that he invented that has to do with decompressing blood vessels that put pressure on nerves and thereby cause pain and twitches, etc. Once the pressure is off the nerve (by putting a "pad" between the blood vessel and nerve), the problem is solved. I am probably butchering what I have read but that is my understanding of it.

I was reluctant to post about this because of the false hope issue, and am sorry if anyone is offended by the thread. Everyone should be outraged when false claims of a cure are made, but at the same time, I'd rather be aware of the research work and risk dashed hopes than not know something could be coming which could really help. I really debated posting about this, but so much about this seems different from other news articles...such as the fact that this guy, instead of heralding his research work months or years in advance of any actual beneficial treatment coming to light, as almost everyone in this industry does (to get that stock value up, up, up?), has apparently been working quietly, behind the scenes, until now, baboom.

I'm going to hope and pray he's onto something that can really help.

And thinking ahead: what if his "cure" is a cumbersome treatment (like the GDNF surgery-a one-at-a-time treatment that defies vast commercialization) and which many parkies might not be able to afford (since it won't be medicare/medicaide approved for awhile, meanwhile the suffering continues unabated)-would the PD nonprofits out there be willing to turn at least some of those research dollars into payments for this surgery/treatment? Does anyone have thoughts about what the response to such a request might be?
I'd like to think that such would be included in the mission statements of the PD nonprofits...but no doubt feathers would be ruffled by such a request, no?

[bluedahlia]

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/j...medical-people

Doctor denies Schuller's claims of Parkinson's cure
The neurosurgeon who the televangelist said had found a cure called it a 'misunderstanding.'
By JENNIFER MUIR
The Orange County Register
Comments | Recommend

A Pennsylvania neurosurgeon on Tuesday denied he has found a cure for Parkinson's disease, as Rev. Robert H. Schuller claimed from the pulpit during a recent sermon, calling the televangelist's announcement a "misunderstanding."

A spokesman for Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where Dr. Peter Jannetta is the vice chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery and director of the hospital's Center for Cranial Nerve Disorders, said he and Jannetta "regret any disappointment" the misunderstanding has caused for Schuller's viewers.

"Unfortunately, despite his well-intentions and heartfelt effort to offer hope to people who suffer from Parkinson's disease, Pastor Robert Schuller on Sunday referenced research being conducted by Dr. Jannetta that is in its earliest stages and of no immediate known benefit to those with this difficult disease," said hospital spokesman Dan Laurent on behalf of Jannetta.

He said Jannetta would not comment further.

Schuller said a friend had made the groundbreaking medical discovery during his internationally televised "Hour of Power" service at the Crystal Cathedral on Oct.12, and he promised viewers the friend, later identified as Jannetta, would soon fly in from Pittsburgh "to share with us how God helped him to discover a cure."

More than 1.5 million people across the U.S. suffer from the debilitating disease, which is caused by the degeneration of dopamine cells in the brain. The discovery of a cure would amount to a major medical breakthrough.

The sermon sparked a backlash among those who suffer from the neurological disease and surprise among medical professionals, who had never heard of such a discovery.

Several sufferers called the Crystal Cathedral hoping to learn more, others to express anger over a false cure.

The director of the National Parkinson Foundation's Arizona chapter, Rayilyn Brown, wrote to Schuller demanding a clarification. After learning of Jannetta's comments on Tuesday, Brown said the televangelist should apologize publicly.

"When a person of power and influence makes such claims people listen and it tends to marginalize the issue," Brown said. "People see no need to work for cures when Schuller says one has been found. That is what will be remembered, not that it was a misunderstanding on his part."

It is unclear just how the misunderstanding occurred.

Schuller could not be reached for comment. And a representative for the pastor last week referred further questions about the medical claims to Jannetta.

But during the service, Schuller promised congregants that the "triple-checked" findings soon would be published in the London-based medical journal Lancet. A representative for Lancet declined to comment, citing a confidential peer review process.

[lurkingforacure]

Shame on that pastor for making these comments. I hope he hears plenty from people about this-surely he could not make these comments without knowing how many would be clinging to every word. Things like this have a way of making one more and more cynical, which makes hope hard.

[little rock]

During last Sunday's telecast, did the good Dr. Schuller take the time to publicly apologize to the Parkinson community for recklessly raising their hopes. If not, one must remember that he only has so much time to fleece his flock. Hoping to to get an explanation, I dialed the number for the Crystal Cathedral. Curiously enough, unlike the line one is to use to purchase their Christmas decorations, it's not toll free. He never returned my call, then again he is a busy man interpreting God's word and counting all his money.

[rosebud]

The Bible teaches a great truth about those who speak in the name of God:

"By their fruits You will Know them"....so just sit back and watch how this plays out, and don't jump on any band wagons until the fruit of this announcement comes forward. Then you will know the truth of the matter.