Bruce

This is an abstract of a study published in "Clin Chem Lab Med 2001Apr;39(4)356-361 posted on Pub Med by the National Library of Medicine.

Lindvall O, Hagel P

Transplanted human fetal dopamine neurons reinnervates the striatum in patients with Parkinson's disease. Research findings using positron emission tomagraphy indicate that the grafts are functionally integrated and restore dopamine release in the patient's striatum. The grafts can exhibit long-term survival without immunological rejection and despite an ongoing disease process and continous antiparkinson drug treatment. In the most successful cases, patients have been able to withdraw L-dopa treatment after transplantation and resume an independent life. About two thirds of grafted patients have shown clinically useful, partial recovery of motor function. The major obstacle for the further development of this replacement strategy is that large amounts of human fetal mesencephalic tissue are needed for therapeutic effects. Stem cells hold promise as a virtually unlimited source of self-renewing progengenitors for transplantation, The possibility to generate dopamine neurons from such cells is now being explored using different approaches. However, so far the generated neurons have survived poorly after transplantation in animals.

Study was done at Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Unniversity Hospital, Lund, Sweden.