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Compare these two reports of the same study carefully. I'm confused. Are the results good or not? What really happened? It's Rashomon all over again. Phil Tompkins Hoboken NJ age 61/dx 1990 (For the sake of brevity, I took the liberty of removing what I thought was not relevant to comparing the two reports.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from post here Wed, 21 Apr 1999 From: John Walker <[log in to unmask]> Study: Fetal cells ease life for Parkinson's patients 4/21/99 -- 8:35 PM http://www.tampabayonline.net/news/news100h.htm TORONTO (AP) - A controversial surgery which implants fetal cells into an adult's brain have helped many Parkinson's patients improve brain function and move better, researchers said Wednesday. The researchers studied 38 American and two Canadian patients... ... Over the year following the operation, more than half the patients who received fetal cells had a significant increase in levels of dopamine. But how long the improvements will continue is still under investigation. .... Most of the benefits of the operation, including better motor control, were in patients under 60, said Dr. Stanley Fahn, Freed's partner from New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Researchers believe it's because the aging brain is less resilient. Many patients were also able to reduce or stop taking medication. .... [Toronto-area patient Judy] Hazlett said the surgery has resulted in ``little but amazing changes.'' She can now sleep through the night, carry a spoon without dropping it, and hold her head up. She is also taking less medication. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from the NIH press release of April 21, 1999 http://www.ninds.nih.gov/WHATSNEW/PRESSWHN/1999/freed.htm Fetal Cell Therapy Benefits Some Parkinson's Patients First Controlled Clinical Trial Shows Mixed Results Results from the first randomized, controlled clinical trial of fetal dopamine cell implants for Parkinson's disease show that the surgery helped a small number of Parkinson's patients, but not all who underwent the experimental therapy. These results raise important questions in the search for improved treatments for Parkinson's disease. ..... After 1 year, the treated patients under age 60 (9 of the total patients in the trial) showed significant improvements in movement. Patients over age 60 who received the implants, as well as those who had the placebo surgery, showed no significant improvements in any of their symptoms. On another important measure, the study showed that patients did not perceive a benefit from the therapy in terms of their normal daily activities. "Any gains against this terrible, common disorder are welcome," said Gerald Fischbach, M.D., Director of NINDS. "We are proud to be the sponsors of this trial. Although not all measured outcomes were positive, there was clear improvement in control of movement in Parkinson's patients 60 years of age or younger. There is reason to be encouraged." PET brain scans showed that more than half of the patients who received the implants had a greater than 20 percent increase in dopamine activity in the putamen, regardless of age. .... Previous studies of fetal dopamine cells for Parkinson's disease in the 1980s and 1990s showed what sometimes appeared to be remarkable benefits....Publicity surrounding these early clinical trial results led to great patient demand for cell implant therapy. Until now, however, researchers could not be certain whether the effects seen in these earlier clinical trials were due to the therapy or to psychological factors. .... While the study results indicate that fetal cell implants can help some patients younger than age 60, they also raise important questions, including why the treatment did not benefit older patients. Furthermore, the implants did not reduce the need for any drugs that patients in the study were taking for Parkinson's disease.....