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from Viartis 8th February 2010 - News release BONE MARROW STEM CELL THERAPY FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE For years it was being claimed that stem cell therapy was going to cure Parkinson's Disease. However, stem cell operations being carried out around the world have failed to have such an effect. One of the acclaimed stem cell pioneers eventually caused a worsening of symptoms. In Germany, bone marrow stem cells have been used that have been taken from the same patient. The treatment begins by collecting a small amount of bone marrow from the patient's hip via thin needle mini-puncture under local anaesthesia. The stem cells are separated from the bone marrow, where they are counted and their vitality is confirmed. The last step consists of inserting a fine spinal needle between the patient's vertebrae and injecting the stem cells into the cerebrospinal fluid, which flows into the brain. The cost for Parkinson's treatment starts at around 7,545 Euros (over 10,000 U.S. dollars). The XCell-Center in Germany has released results from their follow-up study of 50 Parkinson's Disease patients. For the full results go to the News release. Only just over half of the patients showed any improvement at all. Improvement was determined merely as any improvement rather than major improvements. Only 8% of all patients had significant improvement confirmed by their doctor. A greater number, over 10%, actually got worse. Over 90% of the patients had to continue with the use of Parkinson's Disease drugs. Standard assessment tests for Parkinson's Disease, such as the UPDRS do not appear to have been used. Instead, it seems that patients largely assessed themselves even though surgery for Parkinson's Disease is known to be highly effected by the placebo effect. In order to refer to this article on its own click here. Ray Rayilyn Brown Past Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn