Fetal cells against Parkinsonism: a new attempt
Doctors have returned to the treatment of Parkinson's disease with fetal cells
New Scientist: Fetal cells injected into a man's brain to cure his Parkinson's
A patient with Parkinson's disease, a man over 50, was injected with fetal cells into the brain at Cambridge University Hospital. This is the first case of such treatment in the last 20 years, and it is expected that within the next five years he will be able to fully regain control of his movements.
Fetal cells after injection into the brain begin to synthesize dopamine. A decrease in the level of this neurotransmitter causes a classic symptom of the disease – tremor. Moreover, the transplanted cells produce so much dopamine that many patients even stop taking medications.
The patient, who became known this week, received injections in only one hemisphere. The availability of fetal cells for injection depends on women who donate embryos to science after termination of pregnancy. For the described treatment, cells from at least three fetuses are needed for each of the two hemispheres, and doctors cannot predict when the injection material will be available. Because of this, four previous attempts to start treatment of the man failed. However, Roger Barker from the University of Cambridge, who heads the team of researchers, hopes to bring the patient's treatment to an end in the near future (Barker's group was ready for the start of clinical trials at the end of last year – VM). The first improvement should appear after six months or a year. The maximum effect of therapy will manifest itself in 3-5 years and is expected to persist for another 10.
The first experiments on the introduction of fetal cells were conducted 28 years ago in Sweden, and then in the USA. However, early studies did not confirm the effectiveness of the procedure, because they did not take into account the high delay in the result, and the tests were discontinued. A few years later, it was found that the condition of the patients participating in these tests had significantly improved. It is now planned to introduce fetal cells to 19 more patients, and by 2017 to begin trials on the introduction of dopamine-secreting cells converted from stem cells.
In Japan, scientists are trying to get dopamine-secreting cells from induced pluripotent cells, which can be obtained from any cell in the human body.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru29.05.2015