If ever we develop a DeLorean-based time machine, it would be handy to send information into the past revealing what kind of medical research to focus on.
For years, actor was on the front line of the US鈥檚 鈥渟tem cell wars鈥�, arguing that embryonic stem cells could cure conditions like his own 鈥� Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
Last week Fox revealed he now believes that other lines of research hold more promise. 鈥淭here have been some issues with stem cells, some problems along the way,鈥� Fox told . 鈥淎n answer may come from stem cell research but it鈥檚 more than likely to come from another area.鈥�
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Complicated business
The , based in New York City, is still backing stem cell research, says its chief scientific adviser, of Washington University in St Louis, but has shifted its emphasis in recent years. 鈥淯sing stem cells as therapeutic agents is a very complicated business,鈥� Johnson says.
Obstacles include working out how to get transplanted cells to integrate into the brain, and developing 鈥渙ff-the-shelf鈥� cell lines that can be used for any recipient.
Meanwhile, other avenues are speeding towards clinical trials. These include neurotrophic factors 鈥� proteins that promote the survival of nerve cells 鈥� as well as antibodies that target the alpha-synuclein protein, which may be a cause of the brain damage seen in Parkinson鈥檚.
