When you have a life-changing, life-threatening disease, medical research never moves as quickly as you want to find a new treatment. Sometimes, as in the case of Parkinson’s disease, it doesn’t seem to move at all. At our Board meeting last week David Higgins, our Board member and Patient Advocate for Parkinson’s disease, made that … Continue reading Hey, what’s the big idea? CIRM Board is putting up more than $16.4 million to find out
Parkinson’s Disease
Stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease shows promise in monkeys
Tremors, muscle stiffness, shuffling, slow movement, loss of balance. These are all symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder that progressively destroys the dopamine-producing neurons in the brain that control movement. While there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, there are drugs like Levodopa and procedures like deep brain stimulation that alleviate or improve … Continue reading Stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease shows promise in monkeys
Stem Cell Patient Advocates, Scientists and Doctors Unite Around a Common Cause
Some phrases just bring a smile to your face: “It’s a girl/boy”, “Congratulations, you got the job”, and “Another beer sir?” (or maybe that last one is just me). One other phrase that makes me smile is “packed house”. That’s why I was smiling so much at our Patient Advocate Event at UC San Diego … Continue reading Stem Cell Patient Advocates, Scientists and Doctors Unite Around a Common Cause
Listening is fine. Action is better. Why patients want more than just a chance to have their say.
Type in the phrase “the power of the patient voice” in any online search engine and you’ll generate thousands of articles and posts about the importance of listening to what patients have to say. The articles are on websites run by a diverse group from patients and researchers, to advocacy organizations and pharmaceutical companies. Everyone … Continue reading Listening is fine. Action is better. Why patients want more than just a chance to have their say.
Could the Answer to Treating Parkinson’s Disease Come From Within the Brain?
Sometimes a solution to a disease doesn’t come in the form of a drug or a stem cell therapy, but from within ourselves. Yesterday, scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden reported an alternative strategy for treating Parkinson’s disease that involves reprogramming specific cells in the brain into the nerve cells killed off by the … Continue reading Could the Answer to Treating Parkinson’s Disease Come From Within the Brain?
How Parkinson’s disease became personal for one stem cell researcher
April is Parkinson's disease Awareness Month. This year the date is particularly significant because 2017 is the 200th anniversary of the publication of British apothecary James Parkinson's "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy", which is now recognized as a seminal work in describing the disease. To mark the occasion we talked with Dr. Birgitt Schuele, … Continue reading How Parkinson’s disease became personal for one stem cell researcher
Using stem cells to fix bad behavior in the brain
Diseases of the brain have many different names, from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to ALS and Huntington’s, but they often have similar causes. Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco are using that knowledge to try and find an approach that might be effective against all of these diseases. In a new CIRM-funded study, … Continue reading Using stem cells to fix bad behavior in the brain
Another way to dial back stem cell hype (but not hope): Put a dollar figure on it
In an effort to reign in the hype surrounding stem cell research that has led to a proliferation of unapproved and potentially dangerous stem cell therapies, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) recently released updated guidelines outlining conduct for stem cell researchers that, for the first time, included communications activities. At only 1.5 … Continue reading Another way to dial back stem cell hype (but not hope): Put a dollar figure on it
What’s the big idea? Or in this case, what’s the 19 big ideas?
Have you ever stood in line in a supermarket checkout line and browsed through the magazines stacked conveniently at eye level? (of course you have, we all have). They are always filled with attention-grabbing headlines like “5 Ways to a Slimmer You by Christmas” or “Ten Tips for Rock Hard Abs” (that one doesn’t work … Continue reading What’s the big idea? Or in this case, what’s the 19 big ideas?
Approach that inspires DREADD could create new way to treat Parkinson’s disease
Dopamine producing brain nerve cells, made from embryonic stem cells Imagine having a treatment for Parkinson’s that acts like a light switch, enabling you to turn it on or off depending on your needs. Well, that’s what researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with. And if it works, it might help change … Continue reading Approach that inspires DREADD could create new way to treat Parkinson’s disease
The Stem Cellar 