Parkinson's Disease: Progress and Promise in Stem Cell Research

[1990shahid]

if a person in there 30s gets parkinsons, does that mean they would have a shorter life then someone without it.

[JohnOnik3]

Very thought provoking, the scientific part. I hope we find a legit solution for this disease soon.

[Hard2theXcore]

Sweet old guy. :)

hes got a big heart.

[syfygeek43]

It's called entropy

Look it up kids

[jfabproductions]

I my grandpa has this, he used to be the kinda guy that everyone knew around town and loved, but now he just sits at home to embaressed to go outside because of his tremors

[Lakeva13]

It's extremely sad that the elderly have to go through so many untreatable diseases. I feel that there IS a cure for Parkinson's Disease, just like there is for so many other things, but it probably is extremely expensive for the average family to be able to afford. Even the alternatives that are supposed to help stabalize the disease are turning out to worsen the disease which is not helpful at all. I feel there is something that can be done and needs to be done!

[Aleqism]

Increase awareness of Parkinson's to general population and help raise funds for the Michael J. Fox Foundation through 240 mile bike ride from Marshfield to Madison.

Go on Facebook and search "Pedal Past Parkinson's 2011" Like it and spread the word!

[JohnnyBoyCali]

They never make drugs to cure anything. They only make drugs which you take for the rest of your life and keep their profits going.

[MissMysterics]

Out of interest can parkinsons have paralyzing or tremoring effect on organs?

I know people with parkinsons can end up paralyzed but I've never heard of anyone having a cardiac arrest or not being able to breath becuase of the disease.

[CIRMTV]

@MissMysterics Parkinson's disease (PD) does affect nerve signals (via the autonomic nervous system) to the heart and the gut and other systems but is not fatal from the data we have so far. These effects are actually observed well before the typical tremor symptoms. Based on one research study, a common cause of death from Parkinson's is pneumonia/bronchitis. Hope this helps.

[EngrossingEnigma]

Watching the older gentleman made me as though I was being bathed in wisdom. I haven't read of any of the current research but my intuition is telling me its a malfunction of the glia cells. Somehow a normally functional process is being repeated excessively.

[patrickweldon1]

Unfortunately the last comment is wrong. Alcohol, caffeine, smoking, etc are NOT protective against Parkinson's, Dementia, or anything. Smokers get Parkinson's at a HIGHER rate than non-smokers. Early studies were misread, when they showed long term age and diagnosis trends implied that there may have been some relationship, however further analysis proved that heavy smokers simply died before they lived old enough to get Parkinson's.

So, if you smoke 2 ppd, you may not get PD, but only

[jomsvikingur]

PD is caused by degeneration (cell death) of dopaminergic neurons - dopamine is a neurotransmitter that regulates things like movement/motor skills, learning, mood, speech and more.. Some people have a genetic predisposition for PD, tho living healthy and especially avoiding drugs go a long way in disease prevention

[lolkiller1011]

How do u get it and avoid it?

[Deadman1709]

@lolkiller1011 Age is the greatest risk factor. Very simple: the older you are, the greater the risk. Very little other cause is known.

It is found, however, that if you drink a lot of alcohol, caffeine and smoke a lot of cigarettes, you are less likely to get PD. But don't do that. You'll get liver cirrhosis, cancer and heart diseases, all of which can kill you much faster than PD.

[ionit84]

Amazing discoveries, amazing researchers... All for the good of people and not for the good of drug companies. I wish I could contribute somehow with knowledge and habilities :)

[tedxc0re]

Sorry, I withdraw my comment on "Marijuana can be the answer."

and ask, Can Marijuana be helpful or the cure?

[KonaNaturalSoap]

My father was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's and it is so difficult to see a man who was such a positive person begin to have depression issues that I have never seen before. Kudos to the Institute for the work with Stem Cell research so that hopefully we don't see another generation with this horrible disease.

[platter1000]

@KonaNaturalSoap

i have no idea who you are but i am saddened to hear this news. this is one one nasty disease.

[maeon3]

Sergey Brin, a cofounder of Google has Parkinsons Disease. Help him develop a cure.

[yeagers1]

do yall kill people to try to get this cells ?

[CIRMTV]

@yeagers1 The cells used to create reprogrammed stem cells (also called iPS cells) come from skin biopsies. Doctors remove a dime-sized patch of skin in a procedure that takes about 15 minutes.

[killerkitty777]

a parkinsons patient on their deathbed should donate live cells....there must be patients in coma or otherwise who can help!!!

[1888junkteam]

excellent work!

[dlouis95]

Playing Wii Sports might help them by haveing them move while having fun.

[italianpole1217]

I really hope they do develop a cure.

I feel terrible for never really noticing this before today. I was reading an article in Scientific American Mind about ADD/ADHD drugs possibly having hidden risks from long term use, the development of Parkinson's was one thing noticed in research. Of course their research was all from animals and though some may be similar they are not the same as humans. I hope it isn't true for humans. (I have ADD and take adderall so this worries me a lot)

[waraider1]

im 14 i bet when im 1in 2-3 more years there will be a cure

[WhiteEmerald1991]

someone i love dearly has the disease. i believe that poople with tremors should not be embarrased. And i do hope stem cell research is a future possible cure.

[MrSymposier]

I've already seen a video about stem cells treatment for Parkinson's disease, but I did not know that this stem cells could be used to create brain cells from skin cells extracted from a Parkinson's patients, that technology is really amazing. Other nice videos on Parkinson Disease are available at Symposier site, join our Medical Community and share your videos and Experience with us (Physicians and Medical Experts only).

[shaligramsharma]

@MrSymposier

plz forward me stem cells treatment for Parkinson's disease

[tenneildaniels]

Frank- your openness and honesty helps us all to understand this disease and hopefully find a cure- soon!