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PART II OF A 2-PART RESPONSE (Part I posted on or about December 6, 2006) This is Part II of a response concerning the experimental surgery by Dr. Michel Levesque on Dennis Turner in which Turner's own cells were implanted into his brain with an original maintenance of 80-90% improvement over a 3-year period. His advanced symptoms have now returned. Now, I would like to give you my point for reiterating this experimental treatment. When the testimony before Congressional legislators was made (July, 2004), Turner was still doing quite well. Like Dr. Levesque, I would like to know why. Yes, Turner's PD symptoms have returned - and I don't believe we can say they are "worse" due to the implanted cells, because this procedure did not offer any neuroprotection. It is possible that his symptoms improved temporarily because he had the DBS - the studies are ongoing about how this deep brain stimulation might restart the process of producing dopamine with possible neuroprotection. My theory (along with a host of others, including renowned scientists, is that the "cure" will come in the form of some chemical added to the brain that no only REPLACES DOPAMINE, and not only STIMULATES RECEPTORS, but it will MAINTAIN AN ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE TO GROWTH AND STABILIZATION OF NEURONAL ACTIVITY. If you are not familiar with the GDNF story (glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor), then you need to be. Dr. Levesque even alluded to this when Grassroots Connection (GRC) interviewed him (see www.grassrootsconnection.com Dr. Michel Levesque "Voices to Inspire.") In the above interview Dr. Levesque has this to say: "There could be a neurotrophic factor operating here in the cultured stem cells that causes cell growth. Additional evidence to support this possibility, is the fact that the patient did not become improved immediately; it took 9 months for his symptoms to disappear." And " There is some dopamine being produced; but with this first patient, we have to try to introduce or develop more hypotheses as to why this patient is doing better, in view of his PET scan—that is not a proof. I think this shows that there are other systems involved in Parkinson’s disease that are not dependent on the dopamine system to maintain a motor balance in the basal ganglia." Experimentation with glial-cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) showed observable improvement in many patients. The GDNF was put into the brain continuously via pumps placed just under the skin in the abdomen with catheters running into the brain. The results were very encouraging in the Phase I trials. Within a short time patients who were wheelchair-bound started to walk again, some returned to work, etc. However, Phase II trial results failed to meet expectations and were halted due to "safety issues," according to the sponsoring company - Amgen. But the most incredible proof that "something" was going on was when a man from Phase I trials died of an unrelated heart attack. Autopsy reports showed that his brain had "sprouted" new fibers on the side treated with GDNF! Nothing like this has ever been reported. There has been question after question as to why this treatment cannot continue to be provided, especially for those who participated in the trials. Researchers are saying that the Phase II trial results were not accurate due to trial design, type catheters used, etc. Please, if you do nothing else to help find a cure, go to wither the GRC site given above, or see "GDNF" under the Advocacy tab. Other sites for information will be noted there. Thanks! Peggy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn