[TheForge] Way OT. Stem cell cures. (was: Doug Henderson )

[Bruce Freeman]

What the powers that be don't want you to know is that the effects of
Parkinson's disease can be completely reversed by means of stem cells. 
This was demonstrated over TEN YEARS ago when a doctor out in CA came up
with a "model animal" - certain drug users.

This was actually a rather amusing episode.  Seems some drug "designer"
in No. Calif. made a mistake one batch and got an unexpected byproduct. 
He sold the stuff on the street anyway.  The byproduct destroyed part of
the brain, giving rise to rather extreme Parkinson-like symptoms.  The
amusing part (to the rest of us) was that the druggies that took the
stuff supported their habits by break-in and theft.  Their careers in
theft were adversely affected by the Parkinson-like symptoms. 
Specifically, the cops found human "statues," obviously in the process
of pilfering a home.

The doctor in question ultimately identified the byproduct causing the
symptom.  I THINK he was then able to induce Parkinson-like symptoms in
lab animals, and to show that stem cells could be used to reverse the
process and restore normal function.  I KNOW he was able to do this in
some of the human victims.

This should have been milestone work.  A CURE for Parkinsons (symptoms,
at least - maybe not the root cause of the disease).

Unfortunately, human stem cell lines come from aborted fetuses.  You
know the rest of the story.  The arch conservatives in office banned
stem cell research, and that was the end of the story.

This is one of several reasons I'll be voting for Kerry this year.

Bruce
NJ

>>> dann at wctatel.net 9/29/2004 3:51:14 PM >>>

Lou Gehrigs'  disease  slowly causes loss of motor control, but usually
 the 
mind remains alert and sharp to the end. It is now more commonly called

"A.L.S."  This was the illness that took my mother-in-law.  She fought
it 
with  as much dignity as possible  for more than 3 years,  but she had
a 
"living will" calling for no feeding tubes.  That way the end comes,
when 
the swallowing reflex fails. 

The more common welder's associated disease is Parkinson's (P.D.) ,
which 
similarly steals motor skills, but also has another component:
demensia. PD 
and ALS use many of the same drugs to stave off the effects of the
diseases, 
for a while.   There is currently no cure for either, but stem cell
research 
offers the best hope. 


Dann Johnson
*********
Mike Linn writes: 

> 
> I think you meant Doug Hendrickson has Lou Gehrigs disease. 
> 
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