The Immune Recovery Centers of America now offer a comprehensive treatment program for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder of the brain. PD is one of a group of conditions classified as movement disorders. There are no proven cures for this condition at this time, but significant inroads are being made into understanding the biological mechanisms by which the disease symptoms are generated and thus providing insight into treating these symptoms. The PD  program is a joint effort and under the cooperation of the IRCs, IRFCID and HisPlan, Inc. 

Parkinson’s Disease and its accompanying symptoms have been around for hundreds of years. The disease did not receive its name, however, until the late1800s when the written works of the English physician Dr. James Parkinson were recognized. The progression and intensity of PD’s symptoms, such as tremors, stiffness and impaired balance and coordination, can greatly vary among individuals affected by the disease. Parkinson’s Disease is difficult to diagnose, and frequently a multitude of tests, ranging from brain scans to extensive blood work, is conducted to exclude other conditions. 

Recently, a major development in the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease has been the role and the use of glutathione. Another promising area in research centers around deep brain stimulation. While PD is not an immune disorder, glutathione is used in many immune therapies, particularly cancer. The IRCs have years of experience in these particular uses of glutathione. From time to time we have had requests to administer glutathione to patients with PD. The symptomatic relief of Parkinson's symptoms has been remarkable, encouraging us to look toward developing a total Parkinson’s therapeutic program.

Dr. Slava Pashkevich, MD, PhD, is a member of the IRCs’ staff; he is an expert in natural products and allopathic medicine as practiced in Europe and Russia. There he specialized in treatment of neurological conditions. He and Dr. C. Richard Kinsolving, PhD, have devised a series of treatment options for PD, including but not exclusively around glutathione. This includes use of CoQ10, n-acetyl (cysteine and carnitine) as well as other agents integrated into a dietary and supplement program. The goal of this treatment is to first diminish as well as reverse PD symptoms, followed by a reduction or elimination of conventional drugs, such as dopamine replacement - Sinemet (L-DOPA), and the reduction of the therapy to a maintenance level, thereby halting the disease process and hopefully reversing it. Afterwards we anticipate a single weekly or biweekly clinic visit.

Treatment will initially require a minimum of three days per week in the clinic. Therefore, we expect most of our patients to come from the Atlanta area. Of course, we will accept patients from other areas as well.

Prospective patients will be examined by our medical staff and should be prepared to give an extensive history of their prior disease treatment.

Research Programs in Parkinson's Disease

We are currently developing a collaboration for the use of autologus stem cells for Parkinson's patients with the Instituto Bioterapia/Biotherapy Institute in Monterrey, Mexico. The Biotherapy Institute is conducting clinical trials in the treatment of degenerative diseases. These trials are a joint project of the Immune Recovery Centers of America and the Immunology Department of the University of Nueva Leon (UANL)  and BI.

The Biotherapy Institute is conducting clinical trials in the treatment of degenerative diseases. The trials are a joint project of the Immune Recovery Foundation and the Immunology Department of the University of Nueva Leon (UANL - Monterrey, Mx) and BI.

These trials are focusing on diabetes, Parkinson’s disease as well as cardiovascular disease, post MI. A separate study is in planning for certain cancers. These studies evaluate the use of autologus stem cells from the patient; the use of fetal stem cells is not employed. These autologus stem cells are given daily in a small quantity over a period of months as opposed to the current practice of a single large infusion. Patients are brought into immune and positive nitrogen balance in the initial part of the study, and this state is maintained throughout the study.

The trials will last for one year and require monthly visits to our clinical facilities in either Atlanta, GA or Monterrey, Mexico. These studies are not financially supported by any medical foundation other than the principals directing the study. Some of the costs involved must be bourne by the patient. However, these costs are expected to be from 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of conventional stem cell therapeutic treatments.