Approximately 1 million people live there Parkinson’s disease In the US, and with 90,000 new diagnoses each year, race is a treatment.
Researchers at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have announced their advancements on the frontline. They have developed a new treatment to treat advanced Parkinson’s disease using stem cells.
In a phase 1 trial, researchers used donated stem cells (taken from early stage embryos) to create neurons (neurons) and implanted them into the brains of 12 Parkinsonian patients, according to a press release from MSK.
When cells are injected, they produce dopamine, a hormone in the brain, which helps them move and coordinate.
(One characteristic of Parkinson’s disease is low levels of dopamine, causing typical symptoms of tremors, stiffness, balance issues and walking difficulties.)
Around 1 million people live with Parkinson’s disease in the United States, and 90,000 people receive new diagnoses each year. (istock)
Eighteen months later, the injected cells “consolidated the brain without any serious side effects,” the researchers reported.
Participants experienced “notable improvements” based on MDS-Updrs, a symptom rating scale developed by the International Parkinson and the Movement Disorders Association. High dosage.
Patients in the high-dose group reported an additional 2.7 hours of “on-time” daily.
“Neurologists usually say things get a little worse each year with this disease, meaning the score goes up a few points,” researchers at Lorenz Studer, director of MSK’s Center for Stem Cell Biology, said in a press release.
“In our study, not only did the score not deteriorate, but we also dropped by over 20 points in the high-dose group.”
The researchers used donated stem cells (taken from early stage embryos) to create neurons (neurons) and implanted them into the brains of 12 Parkinson’s patients. (istock)
On average, patients in the high-dose group reported an additional 2.7 hours of “on-time” indicating a period of normal functioning with minimal symptoms – “a very meaningful outcome for daily life.”
Given the success of the Phase 1 trial, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the researchers to go directly. Phase 3 clinical trials It will take place in the first half of 2025 in a much larger patient group (approximately 100).
The findings were published in Nature.
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“This study showed that it is safe to develop specific neurons from human embryonic stem cells in the lab and inject them into the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease and holds important promises. Potential for future treatment“He told Fox News Digital, Vivian Taver, the chairman of the Neurosurgery Department at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and the lead research author Vivian Taver, Maryland.
“The results of this work have lasted over decades, so the findings were rewarding.”
“Major Step”
Dr. Mary Anne Picone, medical director of the MS Center at Holy Nam Medical Center in Teenick, New Jersey, said cells for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease could not only slow down the disorder, but could also stop progression and lead to improved motor function.
“There are risks to the previously necessary immunosuppression Stem cell transplantation And the procedure itself is a major step forward in replacing dopaminergic neurons lost in the disease,” Picone, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
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Currently, Levodopa, the first-line treatment for Parkinson’s disease, is limited in that patients require more dosages over time.
Eighteen months later, the injected cells “consolidated the brain without any serious side effects,” the researchers reported. (istock)
Dr. Anne Murray, director of the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute in West Virginia, said, “It’s incredibly exciting“For Parkinson’s patients.
“The goal of this particular research project was to ensure safety, but getting a significant clinical improvement in UPDRS is absolutely groundbreaking,” Murray told Fox News Digital. (She was not involved in the research.)
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“This is just the first step to approving this type of treatment for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, but this is an incredible first step of potential benefits. Stem Cell Brain Therapy. ”
Potential limitations
There were several limitations related to the study, Tabar noted.
“This is a small study designed to demonstrate safety. It’s important to carry out larger, better controlled studies to prove that treatments actually work.
“This is an incredible first step for the potential benefits of stem cell brain therapy.”
However, these early findings “suggest a strong promise.”
“Stem cells, when properly derived and differentiated, repair the Parkinson’s brain, Other Terms One day, Tabal said.
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Cell therapy was developed at MSK and approved by Bluerock Therapeutics in Massachusetts and funded the study.
