FROM: Parkinson’s Disease Foundation
710 West 168th Street
New York, NY 10023
Phone: Office hours: (212) 923-4700/ (646) 283-6278
Contact: Lucy Sargent, Director of Communications
Robin Elliott, Executive Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PARKINSON’S DISEASE FOUNDATION HAILS NEW KOREAN STUDY INVOLVING EMBRYONIC
STEM CELLS
New York, February 12 – Today’s news that scientists in South Korea have
succeeded in deriving human embryonic stem cells from a cloned embryo is
an important step forward in the exploration of the potential of this
science for easing and solving human diseases, said officials of the
Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (PDF).
Dr. Stanley Fahn, PDF’s scientific director and Columbia University
professor who recently completed a two-year term as President of the
American Academy of Neurology, described the statement as “encouraging
news from qualified investigators on their work in an area that could
hold much promise for the solution of a variety of human diseases,
including Parkinson’s.” He cautioned, however, that the therapeutic
promise of somatic cell nuclear transfer, in which the nucleus of a cell
is transferred into a nucleus-free egg from the same donor, is “neither
certain nor immediate. But it deserves serious exploration, for the sake
of millions of sufferers around the world who could potentially benefit
from it in the long run.”
Individuals who are interested in exploring these issues further are
encouraged to check the website of the Coalition for the Advancement of
Medical Research (CAMR) at www.camradvocacy.org, a nationwide coalition
of disease advocacy groups that support this kind of research and favor
public policies permitting scientists to pursue such research. PDF,
along with the Washington-based Parkinson’s Action Network, are active
members of CAMR.
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