The study's authors were quick to point out that their work, a Phase I trial, was meant to show that gene therapy could be safe for patients, not to test it against existing Parkinson's treatments.
"Without question, we can't say for sure that there wasn't a placebo effect from the surgery," Kaplitt said. "The plan is to begin a larger study to look at both sides of the brain to see if the results we see are real."