http://viartis.net/parkinsons.disease/news.htm
that talks about stem cell treatment not being a cure for PK. The article says:
THE RESULT OF STEM CELL SURGERY IN CHINA
On 7th January 2008, Linda and John Fratcher arrived in China in order to have stem cell surgery to rid Linda Fratcher's Parkinson's Disease. For years it has been claimed by some that the use of stem cells would be the cure for Parkinson's Disease. In China and elsewhere, due to there being fewer restrictions, stem cell surgery is already being carried out. The stem cell surgery operation on Linda Fratcher has now been completed. However, she still has Parkinson's Disease, and is still having to take Sinemet. They are continuing to detail what happens to her after the operation day by day in a blog titled "Linda and John in China", which is on the Parkinson's Rebels web site. For more information go to Linda and John in China. Despite a number of people having undergone stem cell surgery for Parkinson's Disease, nobody has been cured of it. Every patient has returned from stem cell surgery in China with Parkinson's Disease and is still being treated for it. Reductions in patients' Sinemet have often been due to it being replaced by Mucuna Pruriens, which is a natural form of L-dopa. For more information go to Stem cells in China.
Who ever wrote this article never checked with me or any other person coming back from China. This hospital and the directors and the doctors and the staff and no one any where around calls this a cure for PK. Right in the information the hospital sends out, when you email the hospital for info the first thing they tell you is this is not a cure, they want to make that very plain right up front. When you first ask for info from this hospital the first person you reach is Kotan. Kotan tells you first thing this is not a cure. So if it is not a cure what are we doing here.
Parkinson's is a neurological disorder of the brain where the transmitting capabilities of the nerves to commutate with each other break down and get progressively worse as time goes on. The chemical the brain uses to commutate is called dopamine and Parkinson's patients lose the ability to produce it. That is where drugs come in and sinemet is the gold standard. Sinemet has been around since the 60's and most drugs used in the treatment of Parkinson's use some form of sinemet. As of now there is no cure for Parkinson's and no one of any repute makes that claim. So what's going on here? In the 1990's in the US a pharmaceutical research lab did a trial of 6 Parkinson's patients. Eye retina cells were grown and make stem cell from them. They were inserted right into the brain and lo and behold, the symptoms of PK became much less. There are reasons for this we won't get into here. the results were given to the FDA and they put it on the fast track. And there it sat. A second trial was preformed and again good results. And there it sat. Why we haven't been able to figure out. This is what the hospital in China offers.
Over a year ago I read an article about a woman who went to China for treatment and her symptoms improved greatly. This was the first patient to come to China for the treatment. I called her on the phone and we became friends. This last fall I flew out to meet her in person and was impressed with her condition. Lets just say it was good. I also contacted just about every one who had the treatment and everyone of them said they benefited from it and would do it again. The person who wrote that article never talked to one person.
So what do we expect to get out of treatment. Not a cure. We know that. As of now there is no cure. But we are looking for reduced symptoms and a better quality of life. If we get that than the trip will be worth it. There are no guarantees in life and none here. The only guarantee is if we do nothing we know where that leads.
john and linda in China
5 comments:
I wrote the article. Everything in the article is correct.
It is correct that nobody has ever been cured of Parkinson's Disease using stem cell surgery.
The article states that "For years it has been claimed by SOME that the use of stem cells would be the cure for Parkinson's Disease."
That is also correct. It was widely claimed by many people that stem cells would cure Parkinson's Disease.
The article does not state anywhere that you or the doctors in China are claiming this to be a cure.
Therefore it is irrelevant that I did not discuss this with you beforehand. Both you and the doctors have already detailed what has happened to you and other patients.
Viartis
Viartis,
This is Jon Beike - not related to Tiantan but still in China working with stem cell therapy. First it is great that you responded. Thank you. But you know that any reader of the article is going to relate everything you said about China or those in China to Tiantan so even if it is technically okay, it is morally attacking Tiantan. This is really not doing anything positive for the patients who need to get the treatment and can get helped by it like so many of the patients have.
I can't blame you too much because there is a constant flow of China bashing coming from the US just like they used to do to Japan. It is understandable as it is important that the US does everything it can to try and hold onto its economic strength as its approval process for drugs and the healthcare system is hindering its progress.
- Jon
Jon, it is not morally attacking Tiantan. In the U.S.A., for years, a lot of people have been led to believe that stem cells would be a cure. What was stated are merely facts in response to that misconception.
Stem cell surgery is based on the assumption that there is massive cell loss in Parkinson's Disease. However, despite it being widely believed, there has never actually been any research that has shown that there is massive cell loss in Parkinson's Disease. There is therefore an inherent scientific weakness in stem cell use.
This is certinly not a case of China bashing from the U.S.A.. We are in London, England - not the U.S.A., and I am definitely not anti-Chinese. I spent a long time studying Chinese history and culture at the University of London. I am not a religious objector either. I have never had a religion ! What was written is purely addressing the facts and the scientific issues.
Viartis
I am working as spiritual & Distant healor from Udaipur (India) specially for the patient suffering from Parkinson and knee joint pain. Apart from their regular medical treatment and medicines I involve them in total spirituality and use medicated oil massage on affected portion of body with my spiritual hands along with mantras. The result are fascinating and attractive with self satisfaction. My patient after the treatment starts working as normal person with full of joy and happiness. I shall be glad to work as spiritual healor with you on demand for the benefit of mankind.
God bless to all.
Devendra Kumar Joshi
Spiritual healor
E-Mail: devendra_kjoshi@rediffmail.com
Thank you for sharing this post. As I have come across this update earlier that China has been successfully carrying out research on the Parkinson's disease. parkinson s stem cell treatment
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