Com-Pac International Inc., a manufacturing company based in Carbondale, is doing its part in the fight against Parkinson’s disease for a study that is out of this world.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is on a mission to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease, and a research team has sent a protein linked to Parkinson’s to the International Space Station.
Gregory Sprehe, founder and president of Com-Pac, said NASA contacted his company because it makes a product called BITRAN leak-proof specimen bags, which will play a crucial role in the mission.
“They just don’t leak," Sprehe said. "They are basically like a Ziplock sandwich bag except we have some proprietary processes to make sure that the zipper doesn’t leak and they can withstand a lot of pressure,” Sprehe said.
The protein cannot be studied on Earth because it’s too small, according to Sprehe.
“When they take it up into space, they can get the protein to grow, so when they bring it back to Earth, they can study it,” Sprehe said.
Sprehe said he is honored that NASA has chosen to use his company’s product for the study.
He credits his workers for making the leak-proof specimen bags that may eventually help lead to a medical breakthrough in the fight against Parkinson’s disease.
“I’m pretty proud of our workers and the work ethics they have to put their heart and soul into the products they manufacture every day to the point where NASA would select our products because of the quality,” Sprehe said. “The products that they are coming to work every day and manufacture could potentially help find a cure for a disease, and that is pretty incredible."
https://www.ilnews.org/news/health/for-carbondale-firm-helping-cure-parkinson-s-is-in-the/article_2bebba94-8e86-11e7-82d2-63976806b85d.html
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