Recently, a popular Hollywood movie, “Love and other Drugs,” examined some of the important social aspects of Parkinson’s. The subplot that caught the attention of Parkinson’s patients worldwide was summed up by one angry patient as “they found a cure for erectile dysfunction (Viagra), so why haven’t they found a cure for Parkinson’s?”

The simple answer, which is hinted at by this movie, is that the pharmaceutical industry is focused on discovering drugs that will sell the best. The real answer is that Parkinson’s disease is a terribly complicated, multi-organ, multi-system disease that has been investigated for more than 100 years on every level, yet we still do not understand the true cause.

Finding a cure requires understanding how and why the disease starts, yet this still eludes us, despite billions of research dollars spent in the best labs by some of the brightest minds on the planet.

New treatments explored

New treatments, on the other hand, continue to be investigated. some of these treat individual symptoms; for instance, Viagra is, in fact, a treatment for erectile dysfunction in Parkinson’s patients. other treatments, such as stem cells, are aimed at multiple systems.

In the best of all possible worlds, stem cells would halt and even reverse the symptoms of Parkinson’s, but the patient would still have the disease. this can be compared to certain chronic viral infections, such as herpes and HIV, in which medication can control the infection, but the cells still contain the basic flaw. however, the manifestations of these diseases can now be well controlled in most patients, perhaps for their entire lifetime.

Along these lines, on Saturday, Neuro Challenge Foundation and Sarasota Memorial Health Care System are co-sponsoring our 14th Annual Suncoast Parkinson Disease Symposium, featuring world-recognized experts in Parkinson’s research.

We will have the opportunity to hear about cutting-edge research into high-tech future treatments, including stem cells, from one of the world’s experts on the subject, Dr. Ole Isacson of Harvard University.

Although his lab is looking at Parkinson’s from a number of novel directions, the most newsworthy work has revolved around transforming a patient’s skin cells into “pluripotent” cells, which can then be trained to become brain cells and reimplanted in the brain of the same patient. Dr. Isacson will update us on the progress, as well as limitations, of this approach.

Dr. Jay Alberts, of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, will be joining us as well. Dr. Alberts is also looking into novel treatments. He is a pioneer in the field of forced exercise treatments for Parkinson’s and has been featured on national television news programs, including “ABC News with Diane Sawyer” and “Good Morning America.” He will answer the question, “Is exercise medicine?”

Co-Founder of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Debi Brooks, will speak about the importance of treatment trials. The Suncoast is in a unique position demographically, with thousands of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s in Sarasota alone.

As medical director for Sarasota’s Neuro Challenge Foundation, I can tell you that providing access to trial information and involving patients in our local community and throughout Florida will do much to get us closer to a cure.

Other speakers include myself as well as Sarasota Memorial Hospital Neurosurgeon and brain stimulation expert Dr. James Schumacher.

Anyone interested in the current and future state of Parkinson’s disease research, from treatments to potential cures, should attend this important symposium.

Dean P. Sutherland, M.D., Ph.D, is founder of the Southeastern Center for Parkinson Disease and medical director of the Neuro Challenge Foundation, both headquartered in Sarasota.