STEM Cells to Treat Parkinson’s? 2 Small Studies Hint at Sucess: Shots

Patients Suffering from Parkinson’s Disease May Soon Benefit from a PowerFul Treatment Option: STEM-Cell Transplants.

In a Pair of Small Studies Designed Primarily to Test savey, Two Teams of Researchers Found that STEM Cells Transplanted In THE Brains of Parkinson’s Patients Began Production The Chemical Messenger Dopamine and Appeary to Ease Symptoms Like Tremor, Researchrs Reported In the Journal Nature.

The Results Indicate that “Now We have the pilg Dr. Mya SchiesA neurology profusor at Uthealth Houston Who was not incolved in eternal study.

The Food and DRGADINISTRIONATIONATION HAS CLERIAD One of the STEM-Cell Treatments for a Phase 3 Study, The Last Hurdu Before Approval.

About 1 Million People in the United Stats Are Living with Parkinson’s, A Brain Disease that attacks neurons that Make Dopamine. As Those Neurons Die, Patients Can Develop a Range of Disableing Symptoms, Including Tremor, Rigidity, FATIGUE, Difficulty Walking and Cognitive Problems.

STEM Cells are IMMATURE Cells that can Develop into many different terms

Positive Results

One of the New Studies Inviedd 12 People in the Us and Canada Living with Parkinson’s.

Surgeons Adminished Eighter a Low or High Dose of a STEM-Cell Product from Bluerock Therapics, a subsidiary of biotech and pharmaceutical giant bayer. The Treatment Was Died from Human Embryonic STEM Cells, WhicH Researchers Had Coaxed INTO BecCORING IMMATURE BRIN Cells CALLED Neuron Progenits.

Durling Surger, these cells was injCted intendo on every day of the brain that’s involved in movement.

“The Idea is to Place these Neuron PROGENISors Right when you need them to contact Dr. Viviane Tabar,

Tabar is also a Founding Investigator at Bluerock.

PET SCANS TAKEN 18 months later showed that transplanted cells was production dopamine. An assessment using a standard rating scale of Parkinson’s Progression Suggested the Treatment was also easing symptoms.

For a TyPical Parkinson’s Patient, “You will Expectively Year to Get Two to Three Points Worlds,” Says Dr. Lorenz StuderWho directeds the center for stem

Partications in Studer’s Study Had A Very Direction Experience: “The High-Dose Group, They Got About 20 Poins Better.”

The Low-Dose Group also applyed to benefit, but not as much.

A sicond study by Researsers in Kyoto, Japan, Used Induced Pluripotent STEM Cells, Whiche Are Died from A Patient’s Own Cells, Ratter Than An Embryo.

Seven Patients Had As in the us and canadian study, the transplanted cells produced dopamine and the patiences applyed to see them symptoms decrease.

No Patient in Ether Study Experienceed a Serious Advertise Event.

Long Time Coming

The Appareent Success Comes after Decades of Frustration Trying to Replace the Brain Cells Killed Off by Parkinson’s.

Starting in the 1980s, Scientists Began Transplanting Fetal Tissue INTO People with Parkinson’s. But the Efforts Produced Uneven Results and Sometimes Troubing Side Effects Like Uncontrolled Movement.

STEM Cells Promised Better Results. But the technology evolved sloc.

Studer’s Team, For Example, BEGAN Looking at STEM Cells to Treat Brain Diseases More Than 25 years ago.

“For Us, it’s quite an expression time,” He says, “Finally See Sing Some of the Fruit of that Work.”

One Reason it’s Taken SO Long, Studer Says, is that STEM Cells have the pilgal to become so many different kinds of cells. IT Takes Just the Right Mix of Chemicals at Just the Right Time to Produce A NEURON that Makes Dopamine, He Says.

“IT TOK Us Nearly 10 Years to Figure Out the Recipe, How to Make Specificylly Those Dopamine Cells,” He says. “IT TOK Us Antime 10 Years to Have the Product that we will dare to put into patries.”

Another challenge was creating and packaging Large Numbers of STEM Cells that count be easily delivered to surgeons. So Researchers Developed Techniques that ALLOWED TO FRIZE STEM Cells Until them Were Needed.

“You Just Thawz and Suspend them in an approve media” before surgery, Tabar Says.

Now that Many of the Technical Hurdles Have Been Cleared, STEM Cells App Poised to Offer a New Treatment Option For Parkinson’s, and Perhaps Other Brain Diseases Like Elegry Or Alzheimer’s.

“If We’re Missing Neurons, We’re Able to Replace them,” Tabar Says. “And the Full Expectation is that ph [a substance like] Dopamine. They’re Going to Rebild Circuitry. “

There Still May Besks Thought, Whiche Means Scientists Will Need to Continue Monitoring The STEM Cells They Transplant INTO A Patience’s Brain.

“They’re Going to Be Thre for A Long, Long Time,” Schiess Says. “So you have to follow up and see if there is tumor formation or Something of that Nature.”

Schiess also not that stem cells Don’t Cure An Underrying Disease Like Parkinson’s. So the New Neurons May EVENULLY SUCCCUMB to the Same Disease Process.

Even So, She Thinks They COUD OFER New Hope to Many Patients, Including Those Who Are No Longer Responding to Dru Treatment.