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the full text of Dr, Levesque's article is at: http://www.neurogeneration.com/pdf/Levesque-MS.pdf He does discuss the return of symptoms after 4-5 years. On his website he also describes plans for a phase II clinical trial, but then states it is on hold. see: http://www.neurogeneration.com/clinical/ourp.html "Clinical HoldThis FDA-approved study has been placed on hold pending completion of a cell processing facility meeting strict cGMP standards, including monitoring of processes, optimization of the isolation and expansion techniques and animal studies of cell migration and phenotypes after long term transplantation. NeuroGeneration is continuing its studies in human patients of harvesting, propagation and differentiation of adult human neural stem cells." The Grass Roots Connection interviewed him in 2004, and these same issues were holdinig up further trials then too. Doesn't seem much has changed. Not exactly a "Breakthrough " announcement. www.pdpipeline.org -- rayilynlee <[log in to unmask]> wrote: You should know that Dennis Turner, the sole trial subject, had this treatment in 1999, with a DBS. When I called him on 3-24-06 he told me his PD had returned with a vengeance. There is no current communication from Turner as to his present condition. The FDA never approved of Phase II and I can only guess that because it was done with DBS it is impossible to tell what accounted for his temporary improvement. Patricia Payne of MA was touted by the Family Research Council and David Prentice as an ASC "success" because she was going to be in Phase II, but Phase II never happened. I suspect that nothing has changed since 2006 except for the peer review and they are dragging this case out again to get FDA approval and $. Also the assaults against embryonic stem cell research have intensified as Obama gets ready to issue executive orders to overturn the Bush restrictions. I did not post this article because of these omissions. Ray Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] -------------------------------------------------- From: "schild.m" <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 3:16 AM To: <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Autologous Neural Stem Cells to Treat Parkinson's > Groundbreaking Paper Publishes Long Term Results of a Successful Phase I > Clinical Trial Using Autologous Neural Stem Cells to Treat Parkinson's > Disease > > Last update: 9:11 a.m. EST Feb. 16, 2009 > LOS ANGELES, Feb 16, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Scientists announced > today the publication of a landmark peer-reviewed paper in the February > issue > of the Bentham Open Stem Cell Journal which outlines the long term results > of > the world's first clinical trial using autologous neural stem cells for > the > treatment of Parkinson's disease. According to lead author, Michel F. > Levesque, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, "We have documented the first successful > adult > neural stem cell transplantation to reverse the effects of Parkinson's > disease and demonstrated the long term safety and therapeutic effects of > this > approach." Dr Levesque is a principal investigator for NeuroGeneration, a > biotechnology company, and is affiliated with the UCLA School of Medicine > and > the Brain Research Institute. > The researcher reports that the publication of the article, "Therapeutic > Microinjection of Autologous Adult Human Neural Stem Cells and > Differentiated > Neurons for Parkinson's Disease: Five-Year Post-Operative Outcome" in the > Bentham Open Stem Cell Journal heralds an important moment in regenerative > and personalized medicine. "Our paper describes how we were able to > isolate > patient-derived neural stem cells, multiply them in vitro and ultimately > differentiate them to produce mature neurons before they are reintroduced > into the brain's basal ganglia. This is performed without the patient > requiring immunosuppressants. Of particular note are the striking results > this study yielded -- for the five years following the procedure the > patient's motor scales improved by over 80% for at least 36 months. A word > of > caution must be added however, since this is a single case study, a larger > clinical trial is needed to replicate these findings," says Levesque. > "We have been pioneering the use of neural stem cells for > neurodegenerative > disorders since 1998 and were the first research team to successfully use > differentiated adult neural stem cells for the cellular restoration and > treatment of Parkinson's disease. Our original methodology is based on the > replication of several steps in human neurogenesis to regenerate millions > of > mature neurons characterized before transplantation. These steps are > essential to establish safety, efficacy and to understand mechanisms of > brain > repair. The autologous approach mitigates the long term risks associated > with > allogenic transplants, including infection, inflammatory response, immune > rejection, and poor biologic efficacy. In addition, we believe it was the > combination of dopaminergic and GABA-ergic neurons that produced the long- > lasting motor improvement. This suggests that in humans, Parkinson's > disease > is more than a chronic dopaminergic dysfunction and involves the > GABA-ergic > system with its glial environment. The relevance of this discovery cannot > be > understated because it questions the classical dopaminergic model of > Parkinson's disease," says Levesque. > Scientists at NeuroGeneration are planning a larger prospective clinical > trial for Parkinson's disease. "It's our hope that this trial will result > in > the launch of a cost-effective and lasting therapies for the millions of > patients suffering from debilitating neurodegenerative disorders," > concludes > Levesque. > ABOUT NEUROGENERATION: > NeuroGeneration, a biotechnology company, is engaged in the development of > biological products for the repair of neurological disorders. The company > has > completed a Phase I clinical trial for Parkinson's disease using adult > derived neural stem cells. It intends to start a Phase II study for the > treatment of Parkinson's disease as soon as it received final approval > from > the FDA. It is also planning Phase I studies for multiple systems atrophy, > atypical parkinsonism, stroke, spinal cord and brain injuries, and > Alzheimer's disease. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered > in > Los Angeles, California. > FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: > Heather Larrabee > NeuroGeneration > 310.659.3880 > [log in to unmask] > http://www.neurogeneration.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn