Healing the Brain: A Doctor's Controversial Quest for a Cure for Parkinson's Disease

A riveting story from the front lines of today’s most controversial science—the new frontier of embryonic stem cell researchIn May 1995, neurologist Curt Freed began one of the most dramatic and controversial experiments in the history of medicine—the attempt to treat sufferers of Parkinson’s disease by grafting human stem cells into their diseased brains.Of the forty patients who volunteered for Freed’s new treatment, only half underwent authentic surgery. For those who discovered later that they had not received stem cell grafts, their last hope decayed into bitter frustration. Yet the hardest road still lay ahead for Freed, his research team, and the courageous, desperate men and women with Parkinson’s who had taken the greatest risk in their search for a Would the brain regenerate itself or reject the new cells?Healing the Brain is a story of discovery, conflict, generosity, suffering, love, disillusionment, tragedy, and—for some—amazing success.