Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Parkinson's Disease and Stem Cell Research

Levy, Gilberto, M.D. “Relationship of Parkinson’s Disease With Aging.” Archives
of Neurology Vol 64 (2007): p 1242-1246.

This article examines the relationship between Parkinson’s disease and aging. The model in the study suggests that within the context of the pathological process proper to Parkinson’s disease, aging may still play a substantial role by way of interaction with the disease process in nondopaminergic structures. It looks at the hypothesis that the most important point of the clinical progression is advancing age rather than disease duration. The article tries to determine what can be done to intervene to slow down the clinical progression of the disease.

Master, Zubin, McLeod, marcus, Menendez, Ivar. “Benefits , risks and
Ethical Considerations in Translation of Stem Cell Research to
Clinical Applications in Parkinson’s Disease.” Journal of Medical Ethics
Vol. 33 (2006): p 169-173.

Stem cells are considered to be an alternative source of biological material for cell restorative treatments. The article also point out that there is a favorable probability to benefit research on humans and potential benefits to research participants. It also discusses the risk of tumor formation with embryonic stem cells, medications, and analyzes the potential benefits and risks of stem cell transplantation for Parkinson’s disease.
Anonymous, “Depomed, inc.; The Michael J. Fox Foundation Awards Depomed
a Preclinical Development grant for Levodopa/ Carbidopa in Parkinson’s
Disease.” Information Technology Business (2008): p. 14.

Depomed, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a preclinical grant by the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The drug Levodopa/Carbidopa is manufactured by Depomed, Inc. The staff and reviewers are excited about the drug research to improve delivery of Levodopa, which could lessen debilitating side effect of the drug and impact patients. Nearly 5 million worldwide are estimated to have Parkinson’s disease. With the funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation it has created the Therapeutics Development Initiative.

Sarah F

1 comment:

Nicole Lindsay said...

Sarah-
I like the fact that these three sources show different aspects of your topic. The first article is obviously medical in nature and it certainly has authority since it was written by an MD and was published in a Neurology journal. The second source is really interesting because it talks about the ethical side of stem cell research as it relates to Parkinson's. The last source is also important because it discusses the funding aspect of Parkinson's research. It's easy to see (based on these postings) how your sources will be divided up for your literature review. Great job.