Parkinson’s Patients Say Their Symptoms Eased After Receiving Millions of New Brain Cells
1 min read
Summary
Two new trials into Parkinson’s disease, one led by Lund University in Sweden and another by biotechnology company Genervon Biopharmaceutical in the US, have used stem cells to implant new dopamine neurons into patients’ brains.
Parkinson’s disease affects neurons in the brain’s substantia nigra, causing it to produce less dopamine and resulting in symptoms including tremors, muscle rigidity and memory loss.
Both teams took donor stem cells and grew them into dopamine neurons, then transplanted them into the brains of patients with the disease.
The Lund study used human embryonic stem cells, while Genervon used induced pluripotent stem cells.
Both were shown to be safe, and successfully boosted dopamine levels, improving motor function and reducing symptoms for the lifespan of the cells (around 18 months and two years respectively).
Larger trials with more patients are planned.
“The results are encouraging because they show that the use of allogeneic transplants for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease is likely to be safe,” said Hideyuki Okano of the Keio University Regenerative Medicine Research Centre.
“More evidence is needed to prove its effectiveness.
