Today, Saturday, my Grandfather died as a result of Parkinson's disease. ( and in September my Grandmother, on the other side of my family, died from Alzheimer's, but today I want to talk about Parkinson's) The two thing that gets me most upset about this, is that I know Stem cells could have saved his life (and my Grandmothers) and the second part is that I have a strong possibility of also being diagnosed with Pakinson's. Seeing my grandfather in the condition he was, was devastating to me. (My Grandmother was also in a similar condition) He could not speak no matter how hard he tried, he could not have said goodbye, or I love though I know he did. I do not want my children or grandchildren to have to struggle seeing me that way, I don't want to struggle with them seeing me in that condition.
Parkinson’s disease affects millions of people around the world and throughout history. People with Parkinson’s have been diagnosed and treated for the disease since ancient times, although the first documented case was in 1817. Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the central nervous system that affects a person speech and motor skills. It causes the sufferer to shake uncontrollably and eventually lose the ability to speak, although you cannot die from Parkinson’s. Most cases of Parkinson’s have no known cause, called idiopathic, although some cases have been caused by head trauma, toxicity, genetic mutations, and drugs. So far there is no cure for Parkinson’s but there are various treatment options.
Parkinson’s disease effects a person’s movement, as well as their mood, behavior, and sensations, although each person will experience different symptoms and at different progressions. The most common symptoms of Parkinson’s are a tremor, an involuntary movement that is most apparent when the limb is at rest, rigidity, a stiffness of the muscles, bradykinesia, the slowness or absence of movement, postural instability, which causes falls and imbalance, speech and swallowing problems, and extreme fatigue. Parkinson’s also effects a person’s emotions and sensations, which can cause depression, anxiety, and loss of some or all of the five senses. Parkinson’s usually affects people over the age of 50, like Pope John Paul the Great, but there are some cases of younger sufferers, called young-onset Parkinson’s, for example Michael J Fox.
Most Parkinson’s cases do not have a known cause which makes it harder to find a cure therefore there are none as of yet. Although there are a number of treatments options available to sufferers. The most widely used treatment is levodopa combined with carbidopa. Nerve cells can use levodopa to make dopamine and replenish the brain's dwindling supply, but only 1-5% of levodopa makes it to the brain without the help of carbidopa. Levodopa and carbidopa works best on bradykinesia, rigidity symptoms while only having a small effect on tremors. Although, levodopa and carbidopa helps some people it has many side effects, like liver failure, and also only works on about 75% of cases. Another option is surgery, although it is rarely used now due to the effectiveness of levodopa and carbidopa. The most common form of surgery is deep brain stimulation where they implant a small device called a brain pacemaker which sends electronic impulses to specific areas of the brain.
The most promising area for finding a cure is Stem cells. Scientists in Sweden are developing new ways to grow brain cells in the laboratory that could one day be used to treat patients with Parkinson's disease. Stem cell therapy hold the promise of treating disease by growing new tissues and organs from stem cells -- 'blank' cells that have the potential to develop into fully mature or 'differentiated' cells.
Among the various approaches that are currently being discussed from an ethical perspective, is the possible approach of taking stem cells, growing them into new brain cells and transplanting these into the patient. "The idea is to start with stem cells and induce them to become neurons," said Professor Arenas, whose research is carried out as part of a EuroSTELLS collaboration. "These could then be transplanted into the brain of the patient. Also, such cells could be ideal for developing and testing new drugs to treat brain disease."
However, to create such cells that function efficiently and safely is a major challenge. Early efforts at growing DA neurons from embryonic stem cells produced cells which, when transplanted into animal models, had a tendency to form tumours or clumps, or die without an obvious reason.
Professor Arenas's team studied the development of DA neurons in animals to determine the important biological molecules in the brain that were necessary for the cells to grow and function efficiently. The scientists identified one particular molecule that seemed to be key, a protein called Wnt5a. They showed that when this molecule, together with a second protein called noggin, was included in cultures of stem cells, far more DA neurons were produced than when these ingredients were not present.
The team then carried out a series of molecular, chemical and electrophysiological tests on the newly grown neurons to check their proficiency, which was shown to be good.
Crucially the team also moved away from embryonic stem cells -- which can be induced to grow into a wide variety of different cells. Instead they used neural stem cells -- which are programmed to develop only into nerve cells.
When the researchers transplanted the cells into laboratory animals whose substantia nigra region of the brain was damaged, the results were promising. "We reversed almost completely the behavioural abnormalities, and neurons differentiated, survived and re-innervated the relevant part of the brain better" Professor Arenas said. "Furthermore we do not see the kind of proliferation of the cells that has occurred in the past and we get very little clustering when the cells are treated with Wnt5a. The cells are safer than embryonic stem cells and more efficient than fetal tissue."
Verification of this approach with human cells is ongoing and if the study is successful, it may lead to a clinical trial. Experts in the field have recently identified this approach as the next step in cell replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease and the hope is that this may, ultimately, lead to cells suitable for transplant into human patients.
Research into Parkinson’s disease is ongoing. Finding a cure is made more difficult by the fact that for most cases there is no known cause, but none the less, people are still trying to find a cure or even a better temporary solution. Currently, the average time for the development of a new central nervous system treatment is 13 years. The Michael J. Fox Foundation is the largest private funder in the United States for medical research into Parkinson’s disease. To date the foundation has raised or directed $95 million in research that "can lead to a creation of better Parkinson’s disease treatments." They are currently funded almost 300 different projects all over the world.
Parkinson’s disease is a horrible disease that robs you of movement, speech, your sense, emotions, and your ability to think. Parkinson’s has affected millions of people throughout history, including Pope John Paul the Great, Michael J. Fox, Pierre Trudeau, Billy Graham, Muhammad Ali, and my Grandfather. It is time that this and the next administration decided that it wants to save lives and start funding stem cell research. It is time that a cure is found so that no one will have to suffer through Parkinson’s (and other diseases) again.
Update: Thank you everybody for your condolences, they mean a lot to me and my family.