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Rescued from the Edge Parkinson's sufferer makes dramatic improvement with fetal pig brain cell transplant By Paul Grondahl September 27, 1999 Times Union Albany, New York Accompanied by a pink plush pig named Priscilla and a repertoire of porcine one-liners, Jim Finn has become the self-proclaimed "poster boy" for the benefits of fetal pig brain cells to treat Parkinson's disease. "Three years ago I was in a wheelchair, could hardly move and was ready to commit suicide. Today, I can do almost anything a person without Parkinson's disease can do," said Finn, 51, who had 12 million fetal pig brain cells injected into the right side of his brain in 1996. The Newport, Rhode Island, man recounted his remarkable improvement following the experimental transplant procedure in a recent telephone interview. "I'm not cured, but I continue to improve, although the changes are no longer as dramatic as they were initially," said Finn, who was featured last year on a "60 Minutes" segment. Within a few weeks after the fetal pig brain cell transplant, Finn noticed he had more energy and the tremors in his limbs had settled. Three months after the transplant, Finn reported better coordination and he could walk with the aid of a cane. After six months, he no longer needed the cane and walked vigorously on his own. Those dramatic results peaked after about a year, Finn said, although he has not lost any of the gains since. Finn also regained some of the deteriorated fine motor skills that forced him to curtail his electronics repair business. On motor-skill tests in the Neurological Referral Center at the Boston Medical Center, where Finn is tested every three months, he demonstrated a 50 percent improvement over the tests taken before the operation. "Measurements don't lie," Finn said. When Finn gives public talks, he shows video clips that document the immobile, waxen figure he was before the transplant and the active, garrulous man he is today - vacationing in Disney World and restoring a Triumph TR7 sports car. Finn was diagnosed at age 32 with Parkinson's disease, a crippling and progressive neurological disorder in which certain brain cells, called neurons, deteriorate. There are approximately 500,000 people afflicted with Parkinson's disease in the United States. Patients typically are first diagnosed between the ages of 45 and 65. Current medications are only effective for a limited period of time, 10 to 15 years. Finn sought treatment in 1986 from Dr. Robert G. Feldman, chief of neurology at Boston Medical Center. Despite various medications prescribed in an attempt to control Finn's tremors and other symptoms, his condition deteriorated. Eventually, fatigue overwhelmed him and he slept nearly 18 hours each day. His limbs shook uncontrollably, he lost the use of his hands and his speech was often unintelligible. Finn said he contemplated suicide at that point, the summer of 1996, but was selected as one of 12 Parkinson's patients from New England to undergo the experimental fetal pig brain cell procedure. Finn experienced some of the most dramatic improvements during the trial. On average, the 12 patients in his group improved about 20 percent, according to officials with Diacrin Inc., the Boston biotechnology company developing the transplantation procedure. One of the 12 patients, a 69-year-old man, died. An autopsy determined the man died of a pulmonary embolism unrelated to the transplant and that the fetal pig brain cells had survived and matured in his brain. This year, in a joint venture with Genzyme Corp., Diacrin began a phase two clinical trial for Parkinson's patients. Patients will be injected with 48 million cells on both sides of the brain - compared with 12 million cells on one side of the brain that Finn received. Assuming successful completion of phase two and continued FDA approval, Diacrin officials expect phase three to begin in mid-2000. Meanwhile, Finn is lobbying to receive millions more fetal pig brain cells transplanted into the left side of his brain. "I've improved so much, I'm ready to go the whole hog, if you will," Finn said, unable to stop the pig quips once he gets on a roll. "I've been called pigheaded. And a real ham. I have a tendency now to wallow around in the mud in the back yard when it rains." Diacrin continues to pick up the cost of Finn's follow-up tests. Finn has posted "My Pig-Cell Implant Story" on his Web site, <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/pienet/hithgang/hitjimf.html> He's active in an Internet community of Parkinson's disease patients who call themselves The Hole-In-The-Head Gang. Their motto: "What's a little brain surgery among friends?" Photo caption: JIM FINN, 51, of Newport, R.I., saw dramatic improvements in his Parkinson's disease after a fetal pig brain cell transplant in 1996. janet paterson 52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset 613 256 8340 po box 171 almonte ontario canada K0A 1A0 a new voice: <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/> <[log in to unmask]>