Hope for breakthrough on path to Parkinson's cure

Scientists at Baptist University are hoping to find a cure for neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease by injecting patients with their own healthy brain stem cells for repairs.

They say they have succeeded in extracting and reinjecting brain stem cells in mice and now hope to get funding to work towards carrying out tests on humans.

"Current medicine and simulation treatment cannot really cure the disease, but only delay the activity of its symptoms," Ken Yung Kin-lam, professor of biology said. "But neural repair lies in the replacement of brain cells lost as a result of disease or injury - it would be a long-term cure."

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Symptoms include shaking and behavioural problems, with dementia often occurring in the late stages. Sufferers may also have difficulty walking.

While it is known the problems are caused by the death of dopamine-generating cells in the midbrain, the cause of this cell death has remained a mystery.

Yung and his colleagues published their findings in the international edition of a German chemistry journal in August this year.