DOLLY THE SHEEP PIONEER BATTLES DISEASE
BY ALAN McEWEN alan.mcewen@trinitymirror.com A SCIENTIST who led the cloning team which created Dolly the sheep has told how he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Professor Sir Ian Wilmut’s groundbreaking work on Dolly opened the way for potential stem-cell treatments to combat the illness he now suffers from.
The 73-year-old is backing a new initiative to tackle the degenerative condition.
Ian, who admits he’s struggling to come to terms with the cruel twist of fate, said he was “happy to act as a guinea pig and either donate tissue or try new treatments”.
The scientific pioneer made the announcement yesterday – on World Parkinson’s Day – ahead of the research programme’s launch.
Experts at Dundee and Edinburgh Universities are joining forces to trial a new generation of therapies aimed at slowing down Parkinson’s progression.
The Dundee-Edinburgh Parkinson’s Research Initiative will probe the causes of disease and seek to develop innovative therapies.
Ian, the founding director of Edinburgh University’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine, said: “Initiatives of this kind are very effective, not only because they bring more people together but also because they will include people with different experience and expertise.
“It was from such a rich seedbed that Dolly developed and we can hope for similar benefits in this project.”
Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, was born in 1996 at Roslin Institute in Midlothian.
Parkinson’s is caused by damage to specific cells in the brain. It affects movement and is often associated with involuntary shaking. The disease affects more than 12,000 people in Scotland.
Steve Ford, chief executive of Parkinson’s UK, said: “We admire Sir Ian’s bravery in announcing he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. It can be a difficult step to take.
“We’re excited about this initiative . It fits perfectly with our ultimate goal to accelerate Parkinson’s research, improve access to clinical trials and ultimately find a cure for everyone living with Parkinson’s.”