Parkinson's Disease Seemingly Cured with Indian Stem Cell Therapy

Indian Express Newspapers Limited, May 22, 2007

America citizen Andrew traveled to Manipal hospital in Bangalore for stem cell treatment and recovered from Parkinson's disease after U.S. doctors were of no help.

The trip to India was a last resort for Andrew, who had been suffering with Parkinson's for more than 15 years. Treatment at U.S. hospitals had provided zero results so he decided to try stem cells as a last go. His personal comfort and feeling of well-being have increased, but more noticeable to others is the fact that his tremors have reduced significantly and he can now walk without support one year following the treatment. The last few months have brought the elimination of his Parkinson's medication as well. For those suffering with Parkinson's disease, Andrew's recovery will give them plenty of hope.

Said R Basil, M.D. and CEO, Manipal Health System, "The successful clinical outcomes from our stem cell research program have given us the confidence to share this new hope with the public at large so that a greater number of people can participate in the clinical research for getting relief from major diseases and disabilities."

To determine the full ability of stem cells in treating disabilities and diseases that no current treatments offer much hope for is the goal for the team of accomplished stem cell research clinicians, led by Chief Scientific Officer of Stempeutics Research Pvt Ltd, Dr. Satish Totey. Using human adult stem cells, the development of stem cell based therapies is the goal of the Stem Cell Research Center.

While delivering his presentation about the remarkable recovery of Andrew, Dr. Venkataramana said, "Stem cell research seems to be promising in regenerating hope to cure PD. This will motivate innumerable patients across the world to explore this new modality. However, we need to observe the long-term clinical effects in large number of patients to decide its role in the treatment of the degenerative diseases."

According to Dr. Nagendra Swamy, Group Director- Medical Services, Manipal Health Systems, "Stem cell research has attracted wide attention from all medical fields in the world. The research involving human pluripotent stem cells promises new treatment and possible hope for many devastating diseases. This research Centre will promote cutting edge research which can be translated into clinical applications. This would support the in treating the diseases affecting heart, brain, liver, kidney, bone, spinal cord and vascular. This promises to be the future of medicine in coming years and Manipal is proud to be a leader in this science."

People over the age of 50 make up the majority of those suffering from Parkinson's. Current treatments cannot halt the progression of the disease, but can only alleviate a few of the symptoms.