Huge Parkinson's Disease treatment breakthrough: Stem-cell transplants can regrow dopamine neurons, stop tremors - study shows

'Stem-cell transplants' could be the long-sought relief for patients of Parkinson's Disease, a fresh study suggests. According to reports, the USA's Food and Drug Administration has cleared one of the stem-cell treatments for a Phase 3 study, the final stage ahead approval.

 

Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that is characterized by the loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. As a result of the dopamine neurons dying, patients develop a range of disabling symptoms including tremors, rigidity,  walking difficulty and cognitive problems.

 

What are Stem cells and cell therapy?

 

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the unique ability to self-renew and differentiate into various specialized cell types. Stem-cell transplants or cell therapy, as the name suggests, involve transplanting these cells into the brains of patients with Parkinson's Disease to aid the production of dopamine. The trials have shown the procedure could help the patients receive relief from symptoms of the disease including tremors.

 

 

Elaborating on the success of the trials, the report said human embryonic stem cells were coaxed into becoming immature brain cells called neuron progenitors, which were later injected into each side of the brains of the patients through surgery. The doctors should inject the neuron progenitors right where they could connect with other neurons in the brain, the report further explained.

 

18 months after the surgical procedures were completed, it was found that dopamine was being successfully produced by these transplanted stem cells. They were also effectively reducing the prominent symptoms of the disease in the subjects, the doctors found out. The high-dose group showed considerable relief while the low-dose group received lesser effect, the NPR report quoted the doctors as saying. 

What are the risks of cell therapy?

The researchers also categorically laid out that stem cell transplants are not capable of fully curing Parkinson's Disease. It is likely that the injected neurons would eventually succumb to the disease over time. Also, the scientists are also in the process of understanding whether the transplants could cause any side effects or other hazards.

 

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