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NY Times - Editorial March 9, 2001 A Setback in Parkinson's Research Yesterday The New England Journal of Medicine published the disheartening results of a careful study to determine whether fetal nerve cell transplants can help patients with Parkinson's disease. For most patients receiving the treatment, there was virtually no change, and for some of the younger patients there was a tragic deterioration, an unpredictable intensifying of their symptoms due to the growth of the fetal nerve cells in their brains. Worse yet, the damage appears irreversible. These are disappointing results for the million or so Americans who have Parkinson's disease and have looked to this therapy as their best hope for long-term alleviation. But the disappointment will be even greater if vocal opponents of this line of research, upset because the cells are derived from embryos obtained from abortion or in vitro fertilization clinics, succeed in blocking further study. By virtually all scientific accounts, the potential benefits from fetal cell transplants are enormous. The Clinton administration took the right steps when it overturned a ban on fetal tissue research and established new rules allowing the National Institutes of Health to finance related research involving stem cells from early embryos. At President Bush's request, those latest rules are being reappraised by the Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Bush has said that "taxpayer funds should not underwrite research that involves the destruction of live human embryos." He has support from anti-abortion groups, Christian conservatives and Cardinal Edward M. Egan. But Mr. Bush would do well to continue the cautious yet optimistic approach already being followed — pointing toward a time when Parkinson's and similar diseases no longer devastate the lives of millions. http://www.nytimes.com:80/2001/03/09/opinion/09FRI3.html ********