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Dr. Levesque Thank you again for taking the time to respond to my questions and confirm certain facts about this case. I assure you I never said you claimed a cure or successful treatment for Dennis Turner, but other people have. You are to be commended for the caveats and clarifications in some of the articles. currently on-line. I'm afraid most of the public won't read or understand the scientific publication. Again, thank you, you've been most helpful. Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] From: Michel Levesque, M.D. Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 12:26 PM To: rayilynlee Cc: parkinsn ; [log in to unmask] ; [log in to unmask] ; Dennis Turner Subject: RE: Adult Stem Cell Treatment for Parkinson's Dear Ms Lee, I will attempt to briefly answer your additional questions below. How can the efficacy of the transplantation be accurately assessed if the subject still takes PD meds and sometimes has a neurotransmitter turned on? Clinical evaluation is made while "off" medication and "on" medication. This is the standard evaluation for post transplantation patient. In Mr Turner case, the evaluation was also performed while "off" his thalamic stimulator. Our goal in the future is to stop all medications completely after transplantation which will allow cells to function better Even though as you explain Turner's DBS was not targeted for STN, doesn't it still qualify as a treatment? Mr. Turner was entered in the pilot Phase I trial after our IRB committee would approve the transplantation only if the initial harvesting was performed during a neurosurgical procedure of electrode implantation. The upcoming Phase II trial, patients with previous brain surgery or DBS will be excluded from entering the trial. DBS is now being targeted to areas of the brain to alleviate clinical depression and epilepsy. Why does my DBS exclude me from Phase II and Turner's was a part of his treatment package? See above. It seems to me that Turner's PD symptoms returned at least five years ago. His head was shaking in the 2004 video of his senate testimony. Why has the peer evaluation taken so long? Indeed his symptoms returned after 5 years post-op. I do not present this as a "cure" and never did. The peer-reviewed paper took years to be submitted because the data and all microphotographs belonged to the previous Celmed company, and they were reacquired by NeuroGeneration in 2005. In addition, patent attorneys opposed the publication until they completed their filing with the USPTO. The fact that his PD returned is never stated in the publicity surrounding Turner. What kind of difference would it make if it was? This clearly stated in our scientific publication. Sincerely yours, M.Levesque, MD ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn