Health and Medicine (Audio)

Parkinson's disease (PD) affects more than a million people in the US. Jeanne Loring, professor and the founding director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, discusses current research and potential future therapies for PD. In 2012, a partnership of scientists, clinicians, PD patients, and patient advocates was formed to develop a therapy for PD using patients' own skin cells that can be transformed into dopamine neurons, which can then be transplanted to their brains to restore lost cells. With further support from the foundation and granting agencies, the research and clinical partners hope to transplant cells to the first patient in about three years. This kind of partnership is unprecedented, and is inspiring for both the researchers and the patients, who are working together to develop the first effective therapy for PD. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 30484]