Update Family Research Council document

[rayilynlee <rayilynlee@xxxxxxx>]

Today this info is still out there but:  (1) Turner's  PD returned and
Levesque didn't answer my question about Turner.  (2) Patricia Payne never
had Phase  II  -as Levesque just told you it is still on hold.  (3) the KY
study has nothing to do with stem cells of any kind.  It is the GDNF Amgen
study. This from the people who draw their moral lines on our sorry bodies.
According to a neutral source re Levesque's 2004 US Senate Subcommittee
testimony he conceded that not enough research had been done on ESCs to say
what was possible.  I as yet have not found the text of his testimony.
Ray

Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, the second-most common
disease of this type, after Alzheimer's disease. It is caused when nerve
cells responsible for the production of dopamine die or become impaired. It
is characterized by four common symptoms: rest tremor of a limb, slowness of
movement, rigidity, and poor balance.[46]
Adult stem cells have already been used to provide successful and effective
treatment for Parkinson's disease. In 1999, Dennis Turner was successfully
treated with his own adult neural stem cells by Dr. Michael Levesque, M.D.
At the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons
in 2002, Dr. Levesque described how Turner's symptoms were reduced by more
than 80 percent.[47] According to Turner, "Soon after having the cells
injected, my Parkinson's symptoms began to improve. My trembling grew less
and less until to all appearances it was gone, only slightly reappearing if
I became upset. Dr. Levesque had me tested by a neurologist, who said he
wouldn't have known I had Parkinson's if he had met me on the street. I was
once again able to use my right hand and arm normally, enjoying activities
that I given up hope of ever doing." [48] Because of the treatment he
received, Turner was able to travel to Africa to go on a safari and
photograph wild animals in their native environments.

Patricia Payne, a mother of five, has suffered from Parkinson's disease for
over 15 years and plans to begin treatment soon with adult stem cells. She
testified before the Massachusetts State Legislature in 2005: "I don't want
to see cures, even a cure for my terrible disease, to be obtained by
destroying a fellow human being at the earliest and most vulnerable stage of
their existence. To kill one human being for the benefit of another is never
morally justifiable." She added, "To kill the weak in order to benefit the
strong is even more objectionable."[49]

A 2005 study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery described how
University of Kentucky scientists were able to successfully treat ten
patients suffering from Parkinson's disease, observing noticeable
improvement in balance and motor function. The treatment involved
stimulation of the patient's own brain stem cells.[50] An earlier 2003 study
in Great Britain noted an average of 61 percent improvement in five patients
after their adult neural stem cells were stimulated with a similar protein
injection.[51]

Rayilyn Brown
Board Member AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
rbrown@xxxxxxxxx

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