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Fetal Tissue Transplants Cause Disaster Again for Parkinson's Patients in Experimental Treatment

TAMPA, August 25, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - More than half the patients involved in an experimental treatment for Parkinson's disease using tissue from aborted babies have developed irreversible spasmodic movements in their limbs. Unbelievably, the experiment marked the second time the 'catastrophic' results of such experimentation were reported publicly.

Nevertheless, prominent University of South Florida neurosurgeon Dr. Thomas Freeman, co-author of the current study was still advocating the research. "What we've found is that cell therapies are coming closer and closer to being useful," he said. Lead researcher Dr. Warren Olanow, a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, echoed the words saying, the research "came close, very close." The study, published in the Annals of Neurology last week, admits however that aborted fetal transplants cannot be recommended for Parkinson's treatment. Of the 23 Parkinson's patients who received transplants of aborted foetal tissue, 13 developed severe uncontrollable movements.

A similar study published in the March 2001 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine showed that the treatment had "disastrous side effects." The results have prompted researchers including Dr. Paul Greene, a neurologist at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, to back out of work in the area. "No more foetal transplants. We are absolutely and adamantly convinced that this should be considered for research only. And whether it should be researched in people is an open question," said Greene.

In 15 per cent of the patients who underwent an embryonic stem cell treatment, the cells began producing too much dopamine, causing patients to "chew constantly" and "writhe and twist, jerk their heads, fling their arms about." Greene remarked that the results are "absolutely devastating ... It was tragic, catastrophic. It's a real nightmare. And we can't selectively turn it off," he said.

See related LifeSite coverage:
STUDY DEMONSTRATES 'CATASTROPHIC' SIDE EFFECT OF FOETAL TISSUE TRANSPLANTS
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/mar/01030801.html

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