Based on hundreds of documents gathered between 1982 and 1995, and extensive interviews with the major participants, this book recounts the story of both medical mystery and medical miracle. When several men and women were brought to ERs in the Bay area in the summer of 1982, unable to move or speak, doctors were baffled until neurologist Dr. J. William Langston’s recognized the signs of Parkinson’s disease. The book relates how his diagnosis--toxin-tainted opium--and the race to find a longer-term solution than L-dopa could provide led to the recovery of two of his patients after they received fetal-tissue transplants. It also unleashed hope for all those suffering from Parkinson’s and other degenerative brain diseases, while spotlighting ethics and the politics of fetal sanctity. Annotation ©2016 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)