Parkinson’s Possibly Cured in Mice; Humans Next in Line?

Yesterday’s BBC reported that an international research team was able to reverse Parkinson’s disease in mice (or at least greatly reduce their symptoms) by re-engineering cells already in the brain (called astrocytes) to start producing dopamine, the chemical that Parkies don’t have enough of because the normal brain cells that produce it are dying off.

However, the research and treatment are still in the initial stages.  We won’t, like, benefit ourselves for probably many years.

What makes this research unique is that it uses cells that are already in the brain.  Up until now, scientists have tried transplanting other cells into the brain.  They have been doing this since at least the 1980s.  (Read my review of Cecil Todes’ Shadow Over My Brain:  A Battle Against Parkinson’s Disease for an example.)

The BBC article is rather short, with a link to the published academic study, and it ends with a formulaic caveat (future research is needed – what scientific research article doesn’t end with this passive-voiced walk back?  Why not use the active voice and say something like “we have applied for additional funding and are moving ahead to the next stage“?) but also a clarion call for hope.

Here are the last two paragraphs, verbatim:

Prof David Dexter of Parkinson’s UK said: “Further development of this technique is now needed.”

“If successful, it would turn this approach into a viable therapy that could improve the lives of people with Parkinson’s and, ultimately, lead to the cure that millions are waiting for.”