Posted on 07/02/2010 1:00:56 PM PDT by NYer
A treatment for Parkinson's disease that involves injecting patients' brains with cells from aborted foetuses could bring hope to thousands of sufferers.
It was first tested more than 20 years ago and hailed as a cure before being abandoned because of devastating side effects.
Many of the human guinea pigs lost control of their bodies and experienced writhing and jerking movements for the rest of their lives.
Now scientists say they have found a way to control these side effects, which will give hope to many sufferers - such as Hollywood star Michael J Fox and boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
But critics say the injection legitimises abortion, describing the use of foetuses in such treatment as a 'grisly trade in human life'.
The procedure involves drilling four holes into the patient's skull and injecting cells from aborted foetuses into their brains.
Around 300 sufferers had the injections in the late Eighties, mainly in Sweden and Mexico. But in 2001 fears were raised following a U.S. trial on 40 of those who had taken part, aged 34 to 75.
Although the condition of younger patients had improved, it had worsened for 15 per cent, with many experiencing uncontrollable and incurable head jerking, caused by their brains producing too much of the chemical dopamine.
Parkinson's sufferers have too little dopamine, which regulates the body's ability to move, and the injections were meant to increase the level.
The trials were halted and plans to carry out similar experiments in Britain were abandoned.
But British scientist Dr Marios Politis and his team from MRC Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College London now believe the jerking movements were caused by malfunctioning cells in the brains of foetuses being used.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Ditto! But that raises the next question. Would the physician be forthcoming in admitting the source of his recommended treatment?
“Scientists say they have found a way to control these side effects” How?
With more drugs.
My husband’s neurologist would be forthcoming. How do I know?
He is catholic.
Excellent observation! Thanks for the ping and post.
They’ve actually done trials with embryonic cells in the brain, and what they found is that it produced tumors of all kinds.
Zero cures. So you’d have Parkinsons and a Brain tumour.
Has he tried mucuna pruriens?http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15548480
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