For many years now, there has been hard work done in the field of research into Parkinson's disease. To date, there is still no cure for Parkinson's disease, but hopes are high that eventually one will be found and made available to patients of this disease.
In its most simple terms, Parkinson's disease is a neurological disease. Generally, but not always, it affects individuals who are over the age of 50. But, again, that is a generalization. It can and does affect a substantial number of people under this age, sometimes as young as in their thirties.
Of the many research projects conducted into looking for a cure for Parkinson's disease, some included embryonic stem research and adult stem cells research. As you know, this is a controversial subject.
The premise behind stem cell research is the hypotheses that these cells can be used to replace cells lost during the progression of Parkinson's disease.
Emotions can run high on both sides when discussing stem cell research. This is particularly true when embryonic cells are used. Many people feel using this type of material for research should be banned, despite the embryo's being the product of in-vitro fertilisation.
Discussions in adult stem cell usage are controversial as well, but not nearly as explosive or emotional. Adult stem cell research is exploring whether adult stem cells can be used in the same way as embryonic cells. Adult stem cells come from the bone marrow in an adult. 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.
As promising as adult stem cell usage may be, there is the problem that they are not as effective in replacing lost cells as are the embryonic cells.
Research in Parkinson's disease continues in other areas as well. Other research studies currently in progress include the study of neurotrophic factors.
Studies utilizing 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 Parkinson's disease, it could be useful in better controlling it effectively.
In recent years, there has been research into environmental and genetic factors to see if they have any significant role in the development of Parkinson's disease. An important piece of research that is being conducted is trying to locate the trigger that actually sets off Parkinson's disease in a person.
Finding these internal triggers would be a major step in not only being able to discover a reliable cure for Parkinson's disease, but would also assist medical professionals in determining who is at risk of contracting the disease so that preventative measures could be taken beforehand.
By Jeremy Parker
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