Despite affecting about 10 million people worldwide, Parkinson's disease is still considered a mystery by many in the medical community. Doctors don't know what causes it, how to prevent it or how to cure it, and treatment options are limited and often invasive, including brain surgery or medications that lose effectiveness over time.

But now, a team of researchers from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, are working with adult stem cells to find a treatment or cure for this mysterious illness. Currently undergoing trials with lab rats, the treatment involves extracting stem cells from the animals' olfactory bulbs and replacing them in other areas of the brain that are already damaged by Parkinson's disease. The procedure works by inserting a 0.7 millimeter, gel-based implant that creates a pathway in the brain, allowing the stem cells to travel to areas of the brain damaged by Parkinson's disease. The cells begin to heal the damage, and the implant dissolves without a trace within about eight weeks.

Dr. Naota Hashimoto is a doctor who practices stem cell therapy in La Quinta, California. He says stem cell therapies like the one being tested by the Marshall University team are becoming more common as scientists realize the potential of stem cells to heal illness.

"I think overall the medical community is changing its way of thinking when it comes to treating medical conditions," Hashimoto says.

"Instead of searching for the next drug therapy, they are looking internally for a less invasive way to treat diseases like Parkinson's. Allowing the body to essentially heal itself not only has less of a chance of side effects, but you're also not waiting on clinical drug trials. So, these treatments could be available to the public a lot sooner."

According to Hashimoto, the Marshall University study is already showing signs of promise.

"So far none of the animals who have undergone this procedure have died, and most have been able to resume normal behavior within a day of the procedure," he says.

"Not only are the neurons traveling along the pathway as intended, but the Parkinson's disease symptoms are also reversing as the implant heals."

Though no plans have been made to test this new therapy on human subjects yet, Hashimoto says that will likely be the next step -- and that treating Parkinson's disease with stem cells is just the beginning.

"The goal of any procedure is to help as many people as possible, and it seems very likely this procedure may be useful for other types of brain disorders, such as traumatic brain injury. It's an exciting study," he says.