Study: Positive Parkinson's Stem Cell Research

Stem cell research for Parkinson's is showing some promise, according to a recent study reported by the BBC.

Scientists in the US carried out the new study for Parkinson's disease using stem cell research. The study was a joint effort, that included researchers from four US universities; Harvard, Yale, the Burnham Institute and the University of Colorado.

In the report, just published by the American researchers in, 'Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences', it is stated that the injection of human neural stem cells into monkeys with severe Parkinson's showed dramatic improvement in the animals.

After the monkeys were given the stem cell injection many symptoms of their Parkinson's were lessened, allowing the animals improved mobility, better ability to eat and lessened their tremors.

The results of this study are very promising but researchers stress that it is still early days and it will take some years before it is known whether or not the treatment will be beneficial to humans.

In a press release by Yale University, the main writer of the study, Dr. Eugene Redmond Jr. said, "Not only are stem cells a potential source of replacement cells, they also seem to have a whole variety of effects that normalize other abnormalities. The human neural stem cells implanted into the primates survived, migrated, and had a functional impact. It's an important step, but there are a number of studies that need to be done before determining if this would be of any value in clinical settings."

The positive results shown in the monkeys appeared as if they are not permanent. After about four months the symptoms of Parkinson's in the monkeys began to deteriorate again. According to researchers this may be the result of the monkeys immune systems starting to reject the foreign cells and that further research would have to be done into how this could be prevented.

Parkinson's is the world's second most common degenerative brain disease. The most common is Alzheimer's. It is thought that around four million people through out the world are suffering from Parkinson's.

Parkinson's general affects those over the age of 40 and it can affect both men and women. When a person has Parkinson's a part of their brain called the substantia nigra suffers dopamine neuron degeneration. This can greatly affect the quality of a sufferer's life. When in advanced stages sufferers can find it very hard to walk and eat and also suffer stiffness and tremors.

According to the report besides testing the effects of the treatment on the monkey's Parkinson's, another group of monkeys were studied to see if they suffered any side effects from the treatment such as tumours or negative effects. Positively, no damaging effects were found.

Source
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/yu-nsc061207.php
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6742163.stm
http://www.emaxhealth.com/39/12917.html