Posted on October 27, 2011 by Michael Okun

Below is an article that was put out with either limited understanding of stem cells and there current application. Before you read the article please understand that adult stem cell lines have been researched in over 80,000 publications with absolutely no negative effects reported. Adult stem cell lines are autologous meaning they come from the same patient. Autologous adult stem cells will be attracted to inflammation or area’s where there is damage. This is where the article falls short with their understanding. I agree that there are often many area’s of the brain that are in need of repair with Parkinsons and when stem cells are introduced globally into the central nervous system systematically over time there can be a repopulation of these pools of neurons in various area’s of the brain. Stem cells always need to be introduces with the appropriate growth factors to both activate and assist in the differentiation into neurons. This is what is accomplished with the combination of blood derived growth factors, photo activation and even ozone activation.

Below is from AdiStem. They are describing the activation of stem cells using blood derived growth factors and photo activation.

Figure 1.1. Activated Stem Cells
When stem cells were injected via IV drip without activation using AdiStem technology, the unactivated stem cells did not go to the site of the injury. (See Figure 1.2.)

This is combination with the use of functional neurology where specific area’s of the brain are activated using targeted therapeutic treatment modalities. Example would be to appropriately drive the dopaminergic system of the brain while the individual is in the active phase of stem cell introduction.

Ok here is the article.

What are the problems/challenges of stem cells for Parkinson’s disease that are keeping it from becoming a major treatment?

There are significant problems with stem cells as a potential savior therapy for Parkinson’s disease.  First, when you take a cell and make it divide you must be able to turn it on and off.  If you cannot control growth of the cells, then they have the potential to form cancers.  This limitation of stem cell therapy is an area that has drawn increasing attention from researchers and funding organizations, and pairing stem cell therapy with gene therapy for example may help to alleviate this issue.  The other major issue with stem cell therapy is that it fails to address the complexity of Parkinson’s disease.  Parkinson’s disease was long thought to be a simple loss of dopaminergic cells in an area of the midbrain called the substantia nigra.  We are now aware that there is a much greater level of complexity to this disease and that multiple motor and non-motor circuits and regions (Alexander, DeLong et al. 1986; Alexander, Crutcher et al. 1990) throughout the brain area affected.  Additionally, Parkinson’s disease may actually be multiple diseases with similar manifestations.  This issue of multiple regions as well as the issue of addressing multiple motor and non-motor symptoms may prove limiting for stem cells or for any transplantation strategy.  An important area of research therefore, will need to be investigation into “how to encourage stem cells” to repopulate and repair multiple brain circuits in many brain regions (Arias-Carrion, Freundlieb et al. 2007; Steindler 2007; Trzaska and Rameshwar 2007; Wang, Chen et al. 2007; Deuschl 2008; Svendsen 2008; Wijeyekoon and Barker 2008; Xi and Zhang 2008).

University of Florida Parkinson’s Treatment Tips blog written by Michael S. Okun, M.D., You can also read Dr. Okun’s book Ask the Doctor about Parkinson’s Disease (Demos Publishing).