Is There A Cure For Parkinson's Disease?
Research into Parkinson's disease has been ongoing for many
years, and though as yet there is no cure for Parkinson's
disease, hopes are high that even though it may yet take several
more years a cure will eventually become available.
Parkinson's disease is a neurological disease which affects
people mostly who are over the age of 50. However it does affect
a substantial number of people under this age, sometimes as
young as in their thirties.
There have been many research projects conducted into looking
for a cure for Parkinson's disease, which includes controversial
embryonic stem and adult stem cells research.
Feelings about using stem cell research can run incredibly high,
especially when embryonic cells are used. Many people feel using
this type of material for research is the thin end of the wedge,
and should be banned despite the embryo's being the product of
in-vitro fertilisation.
The ideas behind stem cell research is the hypotheses that these
cells can be prompted to replace those lost during the
progression of Parkinson's disease.
Adult stem cell research is about exploring whether these cells
can be used in the same way as embryonic cells. Adult stem cells
are harvested from bone marrow in an adult, and because there is
a degree of consent involved in this harvesting, this research
is not the subject of the ethical problems posed by embryonic
stem cell research. However one of the problems of using adult
stem cells is they are not thought to be as effective in
replacing lost cells as are the embryonic cells.
Other research studies currently in progress include the study
of neurotrophic factors. Studies into animals using this branch
of research have discovered that using these factors can assist
in reviving inactive brain cells. If this can be reproduced in
humans, then it would show a dramatic improvement in their
symptoms and if not cure their Parkinson's disease, it would
assist in controlling it effectively.
There are some thoughts that environmental and genetic factors
play a significant role in the development of Parkinson's
disease. One of the most significant pieces of research that is
being conducted is actually looking at these factors and trying
to discover the trigger that sets off Parkinson's disease in a
particular person. It can be argued that if these triggers are
discovered, it would be a major step in not only being able to
find a cure for Parkinson's disease, but doctors would
ultimately be able to discover who is at risk of contracting the
disease and ultimately ensure preventative measures are used.
Only time will tell.