Margot Zobel, the Founder and Director of the Parkinson's Unity Walk will share Parkinson's related news and insights on a periodic basis.

December 2003

Is this scene familiar to you?

The phone rings, you pick up and hear the voice of one of your good friends. The voice is bubbling with excitement.

"Congratulations! I just saw the news," she says.

You are confused. "What news?"

"About the cure…for Parkinson's. Haven't you heard?"

Over the 20 years that I've lived with PD, our hopes for a cure have been raised- and lowered - many times.

Our friends and families are as eager for the good news as we are. Knowing how much your friend cares for you, you gently explain the facts to her. "It's a new treatment, an improved treatment, and we're all optimistic about it. I hope it will help relieve a lot of people's symptoms. But it's not a cure…not yet."

Lately, things have changed. Thanks to the possibilities inherent in stem cell research, the cure is more than a distant dream. A cure not just for Parkinson's, but for multiple sclerosis, spinal chord injury, ALS, lupus, diabetes and scores of other diseases that have plagued us for centuries. The possibilities sound too good to be true, but there's something standing in our way. As has often been the case, the roadblock is government opposition. Because stem cells are embryonic, the research has been erroneously linked to the volatile abortion debate, and many legislators have voted to deny funding for the most promising research of our time.

Fortunately, the Parkinson's community is a fighting community. We will be heard, as our members in New Jersey have recently proved by overturning that state's ban on stem cell funding. It was a major victory. Our next target is New York State, which has a similar ban. We must link forces and untie the hands of scientists so they'll be free to find that cure.

Please stay tuned for more information as we will be working to pass legislation in New York in 2004 that also allows research on all types of stem cells.

Margot

P.S. Your questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.

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