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Stem-cell therapy has potential role

Clinical Update: Parkinson's Disease - There have been important new developments in stem-cell transplantation into Parkinson’s disease patients. A clinical trial, which was followed up recently, showed that the position in the brain into which the stem cells are transplanted has a major impact on the outcome.

The findings of Ma et al. indicate that in future trials with transplantation of dopaminergic neurons – derived from foetal tissue or stem cells — patients should be selected (and the transplantation procedure be tailor-made) based on preoper-ative imaging. This suggests that if you get more accurate surgical transplantation, the possibility of success increases.

This is an improvement on the first preliminary trials using foetal transplantation material in young patients with drug-induced Parkinsonism, which were carried out almost 20 years ago. It was found that certain parts of the brain had increased production of dopamine. However, this effect did not last.

Follow-up of patients 15 years later showed that some still had functional dopamine-producing cells, but in some patients these cells undertook a Parkinsonian morphology.

“Interestingly, something in the Parkinson’s patient’s brain environment attacked those neurons that were dervived from stem cells,” said Dr Gavin Davey, Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience at TCD.

More recently, human skin-cells have been reprogrammed in the laboratory to become induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells — something very similar to an embryonic stem cell.

It is too early to consider transplanting these, as the reprogramming factors have oncogenic potential, Dr Davey added. However, it is an exciting area, nevertheless: techniques are improving all the time and the iPS cells enable the screening of new drugs in vitro.

Posted in Mental Health & CNS on 05 February 2010
Tags: Parkinson’s disease, stem cells

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abortion, accupuncture, ACE inhibitors, acne, ADHD, alcohol, allergies, Alzheimer's, anaemia, anaethesia, anorexia, antibiotics, antidepressants, antihistamine, anxiety, appetite control, arthritis, ASCOT, aspirin, asthma, atherosclerosis, autism, autoantibodies, back pain, beta carotene, beta-blockers, bipolar disorder, birth, bleeding, blindness, blood pressure, body dysmorphic disorder, body mass, breast cancer, breast feeding, bronchitis, Caesarean section, calcium, cancer, carcinogens, carcinoma, cardiac syncope, cardiolgy, cataracts, cervical cancer, chemotherapy, child psychiatry, children, cholesterol, clinical trial, clopidogrel, Clostridium difficile, cognitive behavioural therapy, colectomy, colic, colorectal cancer, complementary and alternative therapies, contraception, COPD, coronary care, coronary stents, Crohn's, cystic fibrosis, defibrillator, dementia, depression, dermatology, diabetes management, diet, disability, DNA, Down's syndrome, eating disorders, echinacea, ECT, eczema, elderly people, endoscopy, epilepsy, erectile dysfunction, euthanasia, exercise, fat, fertility, fitness, flu pandemic, fluoxetine, folic acid, food labelling, fracture, fragile X syndrome, general surgery, genetics, gerontology, GIK infusion therapy, GORD, gout, haemodialysis, hearing, heart attack, heart disease, heart failure, heart health, hepatitis, HIV, hospital care, HPV, HRT, hyperglycaemia, hypertension, hypoglycaemia, IBD, ICU, incontinence, infant, infant mortality, infection, inflammatory bowel disease, influenza, invasive candidiasis, IQ, Irish Heart Foundation, irritable bowel syndrome, keyhole surgery, kidney disease, laser, learning difficulties, leukaemia, liver disease, lumbar disk herniation, lung cancer, lung disease, lymph nodes, macular degeneration, macular oedema, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), malaria, malnutrition, Marfan syndrome, media, medical ethics, medical research, medication, meningitis, mental illness, metabolic syndrome, migraine, miscarriage, mortality rate, MRSA, multiple sclerosis (MS), NCHDs, nephrology, neurology, OAB, obesity, obstetrics, occupational health, ocular medicine, omega-3, opthalmology, oral cancer, organ transplantation, orthopaedics, osteoporosis, otolaryngology, ovarian cancer, paediatrics, pain management, pancreatic cancer, panic, Parkinson’s disease, patient safety, patient-physician communication, personality disorders, physiotherapy, plastic surgery, polio, practice, pre-eclampsia, pregnancy, preventative health care, probiotics, prostate cancer, psoriasis, psychiatric admission, psychiatry, psychotherapy, PTSD, public health, quality of life, radiology, radiotherapy, rectal cancer, reproductive health, research, resuscitation, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatology, rhinitis, salt, SARS, schizophrenia, screening, seizures, self harm, sexual abuse, sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, SGA, sinusitis, skin cancer, sleep disorders, smoking, smoking ban, spinal injury, sports medicine, statins, stem cells, stress, stroke, substance abuse, suicide, supplement, surgery, syncope, technology, teenagers, testosterone, thoracic surgery, thrombosis, thyroid cancer, tonsillectomy, tonsillitis, Tourette's syndrome, toxicology, travel medicine, tuberculosis, tumour angiogenesis, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, ulcer, ulcerative colitis, urinary incontinence, vaccine, vitamins, weight, WHO, women's health, World Health Assembly

«Previous article | Next article»

Stem-cell therapy has potential role

Clinical Update: Parkinson's Disease - There have been important new developments in stem-cell transplantation into Parkinson’s disease patients. A clinical trial, which was followed up recently, showed that the position in the brain into which the stem cells are transplanted has a major impact on the outcome.

The findings of Ma et al. indicate that in future trials with transplantation of dopaminergic neurons – derived from foetal tissue or stem cells — patients should be selected (and the transplantation procedure be tailor-made) based on preoper-ative imaging. This suggests that if you get more accurate surgical transplantation, the possibility of success increases.

This is an improvement on the first preliminary trials using foetal transplantation material in young patients with drug-induced Parkinsonism, which were carried out almost 20 years ago. It was found that certain parts of the brain had increased production of dopamine. However, this effect did not last.

Follow-up of patients 15 years later showed that some still had functional dopamine-producing cells, but in some patients these cells undertook a Parkinsonian morphology.

“Interestingly, something in the Parkinson’s patient’s brain environment attacked those neurons that were dervived from stem cells,” said Dr Gavin Davey, Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience at TCD.

More recently, human skin-cells have been reprogrammed in the laboratory to become induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells — something very similar to an embryonic stem cell.

It is too early to consider transplanting these, as the reprogramming factors have oncogenic potential, Dr Davey added. However, it is an exciting area, nevertheless: techniques are improving all the time and the iPS cells enable the screening of new drugs in vitro.

Posted in Mental Health & CNS on 05 February 2010
Tags: Parkinson’s disease, stem cells