Bill Marquis was willing to do almost anything to get relief from the debilitating effects of Parkinson's disease.

The 72-year-old Waterloo man flew to China for experimental treatment this spring, against the advice of his family and most of his doctors.

He spent two months getting stem cells injected into his spine at Beijing's Tiantan Puhua Hospital, which specializes in neurology.

"I had 12 million stem cells injected in my body," said Marquis, who returned home June 16 with his companion, Wanda Brunkhorst.

Parkinson's is an incurable degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs movement, speech, balance and coordination.

Marquis had reached a point where he couldn't walk steadily, speak clearly or eat properly. He lost 85 pounds and sometimes stayed in bed all day.

Chinese doctors told him the stem cells would travel to his brain through spinal fluid and would later multiply to replace dopamine-producing neurons, which are deficient in Parkinson's patients.

Marquis spent about $50,000 on the treatment, which included a private room set up like an efficiency apartment. Today, he expresses no regrets.

"I feel pretty good," said Marquis, who reports walking more steadily, talking more clearly, taking less medication and returning to normal eating and sleeping habits.

"I feel a lot better than I did (before treatment). I have quality of life. I didn't want to live the way I was living." Leap of faith

More and more people from around the world are traveling to China for stem-cell treatment. They're seeking help for conditions such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy, spinal-cord injury and muscular dystrophy.

The treatment isn't available in the United States. It's considered experimental because of unanswered questions about safety, effectiveness and long-term effects.

In March, National Public Radio profiled a Georgia couple who reported positive results after their blind, 7-month-old daughter received stem-cell infusions in China.

NPR got an opposing view from researcher Bruce Dobkin, director of neurologic rehabilitation and research at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"It is extreme nonsense to think that cells can be incorporated into the complex nervous system and do (what the Chinese claim), when we cannot even get cells in mice and rats to do very much," Dobkin said.

U.S research also has been complicated by the controversy over abortion and potential harvesting of stem cells from fetuses.

Tiantan Puhua uses adult retinal stem cells, fetal neural stem cells and patient bone-marrow stem cells, according to hospital spokesman Kotan Arkin.

Marquis' decision to seek treatment in China worried his daughter, Theresa Lynn "Tammy" Hoffman, 47, a radiation therapist in California.

"I wasn't jumping for joy," she said by telephone. "I was leery. I don't know a whole lot about Chinese medicine, and I didn't want him to be hurt at all."

Today, Hoffman is reserving judgment. She's unsure whether her father feels better because of the stem cells or the two months of rest and relaxation, daily medications and massage therapy in China.

Devastating disease

Marquis is a former Belleville and Smithton resident who worked 10 years as a National City policeman and 10 years as a St. Clair County deputy sheriff.

Over the years, he has owned gas stations, storage warehouses, a muffler shop, bakery, the Terrace Motel in Belleville and other businesses. He has two granddaughters and a great-grandson.

Marquis began noticing hand tremors in 2002. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease three year's later, shortly after his wife's death.

"Any time you have a trauma or tragedy in your life, it can make Parkinson's kick in real big," he said. "That's what happened to me."

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