( this is the first time I have read about bone marrow transplant use in Parkinson's! has anyone else read about this-- madelyn)

B'lore docs spell Parkinson's cure

Shwetal Kamalapurkar
CNN-IBN
Posted Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 08:35
Updated Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 09:14 Email Print




Bangalore: Fifty-eight-year-old Andrew Kisana was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease 15 years ago. He first noticed slight tremors in his body. He then gradually lost control of his movements and his speech became slurred.


"The disease manifests itself by what is called as shaking of the hands - tremors. It starts with one hand and gradually spreads to the other hand and then to the legs and in some severe extremities the entire body keeps shaking,” says Head of Department, Neurosurgery, Manipal Hospital, Dr Venkatraman.


There is no known cause for Parkinson's disease, but it is a low level of dopamine (A neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger between nerve cells) in the brain that results in symptoms of Parkinson's.


There is no cure for the disease, but the first line of treatment is usually drugs, which have side effects with prolonged use. Surgery is another option, but it's not always effective as in the case of Andrew, where doctors chose to try a newer form of treatment stem cell therapy.


"There was about 50 per cent recovery after stem cell therapy in Andrew’s condition. Earlier he had severe tremors, he could not walk, there was drooling of saliva, his speech was slurred, he could not even write. But now, after one year of therapy, he can walk. he is not having tremors, and he can write and use his computer as well,’ says Chief Scientific Officer, Stempeutics Research, Manipal Hospital, Dr Satish Totey.


So what exactly is bone marrow stem cell therapy? Stem cells from the patient's bone marrow are taken and set aside to culture. After the required numbers of stem cells are formed, these cells are injected back in the patient's body. Since stem cells regenerate on their own, thus compensating for the cells lost during the disease.


There are around one million people living with Parkinson's in the country and not all can afford stem cell therapy.


The cost for treatment varies between Rs 2 and 2.5 lakh. Surgery on the other hand has a low success rate.


So it's a no win situation for the people effected, and they will just have to bid their time until treatment becomes affordable.

There was some recent news about a group of people in Brazil with type 1 diabetes who were treated with their own stem cells and all but one showed great improvement in there condition. It appears that your own adult stem cells can be used to treat whatever disease you have?
Ashley

http://www.reuters.com/article/healt...08116420070410
Voltarelli's team tested the ability of high-dose immune suppression and stem cell transplantation to preserve beta cell function in 15 patients who were diagnosed with type I diabetes in the previous 6 weeks. All of them required insulin.
Stem cell transplantation involves the harvesting and treatment of a patient's own stem cells and then returning them to the patient via intravenous injection.

another report:

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Initiates Stem Cell Safety Study in Primates for Parkinson's Disease
Feb 14 2007, 7:30 AM EST
Business Wire


BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (OTCBB:BCLI), a leader in Adult Stem Cell Research, announced today that it has initiated a safety trial using an animal model of Parkinson's disease in primates. The study utilizes BrainStorm's proprietary adult stem cell technology which has shown efficacy in animal models of Parkinson's Disease in previous pre-clinical trials. In those studies, human-bone-marrow-derived stem cells were differentiated into astrocyte-like cells (supporting cells) and transplanted into mice and rats brains. The engrafted cells survived, kept their function and significantly improved the motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease animal models over a long period of time.

The study is being carried out in collaboration with the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. The team at the Movement Disorders Unit at the University has over 20 years experience in researching and applying new therapies to treat Parkinson's Disease, and anticipates being among the first to use BrainStorm's technology to treat patients in its own University Hospital.

Commenting on the announcement, Yoram Drucker, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutic's Chief Operating Officer stated: "We are pleased to have this primate safety study underway and we anticipate that successful results will lead to human clinical trials."

In addition to moving ahead with the company's Parkinson's Disease program, BrainStorm is also progressing with pre-clinical trials applying the company's stem cell technology to the treatment of ALS and Multiple Sclerosis.

About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is an emerging company developing adult stem cell therapeutic products, derived from autologous (self) bone marrow cells, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The NurOwn(TM) patent pending technology is based on discoveries made by the scientific team led by prominent neurologist Professor Eldad Melamed, Head of Neurology at Rabin Medical Center, and expert cell biologist Dr. Daniel Offen, Head of the Neuroscience Laboratory at the Felsenstein Medical Research Center of Tel-Aviv University. The technology allows for the differentiation of bone marrow-derived stem cells into functional neurons and astrocytes, as demonstrated in animal models. The Company holds rights to develop and commercialize the technology through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd., the technology transfer company of Tel-Aviv University. The Company's initial focus is on Parkinson's disease, although its technology has promise for treating several others diseases including MS, ALS, Huntington's disease and stroke.

About Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra

The Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra is run by the Foundation for Applied Medical Research, which was established with the encouragement of the University of Navarra Schools of Medicine, Science, Pharmacy and the University Hospital. The mission is to promote basic, translational and clinical research in the fields of health and biomedicine. CIMA is involved in different biomedical projects in the following divisions: Gene Therapy and Hepatology, Cardiovascular Sciences, Neurosciences (Parkinson and Alzheimer) and Oncology.

About Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cells are non-specialized cells with a remarkable potential for both self-renewal and differentiation into cell types with a specialized function, such as muscle, blood or brain cells. Stem cells can be harvested from fetal or embryonic tissue or from adult tissue reservoirs such as bone marrow. Use of embryonic stem cells is at the center of significant ethical and moral debate. In contrast, use of adult stem cells does not provoke the same moral or legal controversy. Stem cell therapy aims to "cure" disease by replacing the diseased cells with healthy cells derived from stem cells. This approach has the potential to revolutionize medicine and, if successful, the implied commercial opportunities are great. Currently, scientists are exploring both embryonic stem cells (ESC) and adult stem cells (ASC) as the potential basis for multiple cell therapy products.

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