“In the clinical trial of intrathecal infusion of stem cells there were no major adverse effects, and close to 90% of patients showed slowing in the progression of disease, as measured by their respiratory function or their general motor disability”
—Principal Investigator Dr. Dimitrios Karussis, MD, PhD, Sr. Neurologist, HMO Neurology

First, I want to thank all of you who have been following me for the last 10 months.  You helped me reach the magic number of 100 followers!!!  Thank you for all of your support in the last year.  It has been an exciting experience for me watching how the internet brings us all so much closer.  This blog has been read in countries all over the world and several of the posts have been re-posted on other sites.  I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts and news about Parkinson’s Disease with you again this year.

Second, and more important, as a past president of Hadassah Southern California and a member of the Hadassah National Board, I am proud to share the following news with you.  Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America announced yesterday that a new ALS treatment utilizing a stem cell infusion protocol performed at Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) and developed by the US/Israeli biotech company BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BCLI), has significantly slowed the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  For the full text, click here.

This treatment has the potential to be used for other neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s Disease and MS.  Israel has long been in the forefront of stem-cell research since its inception and there has been much hope for a breakthrough in Parkinson’s research ever since.  I have actually been seen at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem twice by the head of Neurology, Professor Tamir Ben-Hur.  When I last saw him three years ago, he had nothing new to report about stem-cell treatment for PD.  Delivery of stem-cells was the big issue.  At the time,  they were trying to inject stem cells directly into the brain, but unfortunately, most did not survive the transplant.  With this new treatment, there is more hope for the future.

On Thursday, I will have the privilege of meeting with Dr. Dimitrios Karussis, MD, PhD, Sr.

Neurologist, HMO Neurology, who is the principal investigator in the study.  I have so many questions for him and I hope to be able to share more news with you after our meeting.

Watch Monday’s press conference