REASON FOR TREATMENT: Jane was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the spring of 2001. During the last few months in the lead up to her treatment in 2007, Jane experienced a speeding up of the rate of deterioration in her condition.

DIAGNOSIS: Parkinson's Disease stage III (Hoehn/Yahr scale)

TREATMENT: hRPE stem cells implantation (human Retinal Pigment Epithelial cells, adult stem cells) by stereotactic brain injection + nutritious stem cell cocktail treatment (intravenous).

START OF TREATMENT: JANUARY 30TH, 2006

CONDITION BEFORE THE TREATMENT:
See Videos: before1, before2, before3

Jane suffered from stiffness and rigidity in her legs, hands, neck and back, especially on the right side of her body. Her movements were very slow and she had difficulty in completing any task involving heightened dexterity. Her legs and hands would freeze in the middle of the movement. Her muscles were weak and she would tire very quickly.

She could walk in a straight line, but had to take slow and small steps in order to turn. She had great difficulty turning in small spaces.  She had to think about every movement she needed to perform.

Before the stem cell treatment Jane could not turn in bed. She would sleep only on her back. She also suffered from painful and frequent cramps in her legs and had very poor sleep at night. She could not move her right leg while lying in bed and needed help to get out of bed or out of a chair.

Jane also could not turn her neck, and needed to turn all of her upper body in order to look to the side.  She needed help dressing up, fastening, buttoning, toweling, and taking her shoes on and off. Jane could not stretch her shirt down, she could not comb or wash her hair and could not cut a steak by herself.

Jane???s speech was increasingly slow.  She had difficulty grasping small things like taking small coins out of her purse or opening a bottle or a can.  For the last two years, she also could not write.

AFTER THE TREATMENT:
See Videos: after1, after2, after3, aftercycling

Jane's improvement started to physically show the very next day after the stem cells implantation, and continued to improve rapidly from one day to the next. Within 6 weeks of the treatment, almost all of Jane's Parkinson's symptoms were greatly reduced.

Jane can now naturally turn over in bed. She can easily get out of a bed or a chair, and turn in small spaces without difficulty. She can now turn her neck, comb her hair, wash and dress without help, put on her shoes and stretch down her shirt normally.

She can now open a bottle or can and take small coins out of her purse without difficulty. Jane's cramps disappeared completely and her rigidity and stiffness is decreasing from day to day. While Jane still feels some weakness in her muscles, she has said that she feels she is getting stronger everyday and can now walk for up to two hours before tiring.

Jane can now write clearly with a slight effort, getting used to writing in her old and natural handwriting style that she had given up in the past 2 years.   "Writing is something that we take so much for granted," said Jane," Not being able to write was the reason I quit my job."

About two weeks after the operation, Jane bought a bicycle and rode without difficulty in a natural speed around the Tiantan Puhua Hospital yard. Before the treatment, it had been over a year since Jane had last ridden a bicycle.

A few days before she left the hospital, Jane went skiing for a short while in an indoor snow dome in Beijing.

Last update (Wednesday, 04 April 2007)