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Scotland reverses brain drain with Parkinson’s pioneers By Sarah-Kate Templeton, Health Editor 21 September 2003 Edinburgh is leading the fight against the brain drain of top scientists across the Atlantic with a £1 million initiative to poach the best experts from the US. The move could deliver the first human trials of controversial stem cell treatments for Parkinson’s disease within five years. The Medical Research Council (MRC) has given Edinburgh University a £1m grant to create a centre of excellence in stem cell research – on the condition that it recruits leading professors from North America. As President George Bush is opposed to embryonic stem cell experiments, Scotland could benefit from a reverse brain drain. The Institute for Stem Cell Research at Edinburgh University is already a UK leader in the new technology but director Professor Austin Smith says the backing of the MRC should make it one of the best in the world. Smith was first to secure a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to use embryonic stem cells from spare IVF embryos to develop treatments for disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. He hopes the new funding will speed up research so that the first embryonic or foetal stem cells (stem cells derived from foetuses) can be transplanted into Parkinson’s patients within five years. The new centre will also carry out research into the use of adult stem cells (stem cells taken from the tissue of adults). Part of the deal between the MRC and Edinburgh University is that the cash is used to recruit a professor of adult stem cell research from the US. Smith said: “It is our ambition to take the lead, not only in the UK but in the world, and this is a big step towards making that a reality. What this funding recognises is that we are the lead centre in the UK for stem cell research and pretty much in Europe. “The centre will cover adult, foetal and embryonic stem cell research. That’s what makes a centre of excellence, not just working on one thing. “We want to be in a position where we can poach people from the US. It is difficult to attract people from the US to the UK because research in the US is so well funded. We have to get the best people and they are in North America or Europe. We have lost so many people to North America it is time we got some of them back.” As well as creating foetal or embryonic stem cells to treat Parkinson’s disease, the centre will also work on stem cell treatments for diabetes and heart disease. 21 September 2003 SOURCE: Sunday Herald, UK http://www.sundayherald.com/36918 * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn