With the hope of preventing snarky comments, I'll preface this by saying I know this doesn't relate directly to Parkinson's disease and I know legitimate stem cell therapy is years away from being readily available for Parkinson's disease, BUT this gives me hope. I hope it gives you reason for cautious optimism as well.
From the article, "It is believed that stem cells have the capacity to not merely help the paralyzed, but sufferers of cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease."
Thanks Jim. Kyoto university is doing some interesting things. I understand that the cells were implanted in the first patient, a man in his mid 50s, in October of 2018.
𝗙𝗲𝗯 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲
The team leading the Kyoto IPS-cell derived transplantation trial for #Parkinsons have provided an update today. The team says none of the three transplanted patients have developed side effects (>12 months post surgery). 4 more transplants this year
twitter.com/ScienceofPD/sta...
𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 (article written March 2019)
nrronline.org/article.asp?i...
- Lead by Takahashi at Kyoto University Hospital, seven patients with moderate PD were selected for early intervention and their progress will be monitored for 2 years (Takahashi and Sawamoto, 2018).
- Volunteers with moderate PD were selected, despite the increased risk of permanent damage, to reduce confounding variables and with the hopes of greater benefit.
- Cells were sourced from third-party HLA homozygous donors to reduce interference from patients’ genetic variability. Further testing of genetic integrity of the iPSC lines and additional tests in rat models were performed before implantation (Takahashi, 2019).
- Transplantation of 2.4 million cells was administered into 12 brain regions via two bored holes in the cranium (Takahashi and Sawamoto, 2018). Following the surgery, and due to the trial’s experimental nature, patients received drugs to modulate immunosuppression for extra precaution.
- The first patient to receive this treatment has had no adverse effects thus far. If the results hold, he will receive another round of 2.4 million cells. The other six patients are expected to be treated by 2020. Physicians will monitor his condition, including signs of excessive dopamine production that could result in involuntary muscle spasms, as well as other side-effects.
- Curing PD with cell treatments remains doubtful, and the forthcoming results must be examined in the context of other treatments. Many questions regarding the future of cell therapy for PD remain, but the future of treating neurodegeneration looks optimistic.
Brilliant. It may be a few years off for PD, but encouraging to see the progress science is making in fields that may help us. Stem cells are successfully treating macular degeneration and restoring sight too. I think we can't emphasise often enough that there are currently no legitimate stem cell therapies for PD.
Winnie, I'm interested in my wife who has retinitis could you mention the source thanks
PS I talk about macular degeneration.
The operation was performed in 2016. The following link (from the article) gives a 2018 update on the clinical trial that this operation was part of:
blog.cirm.ca.gov/tag/kris-b...
Bottom line: It looks very promising (for spinal cord injury).
I am taking both my parents for IV exosomes today. My mom has PSP and mt Dad is aging. I would rather try and fail than not try anything.
This is where the future lies...
Thanks for this post, I have high hopes for Stem Cell Therapy! I believe in this science.
Stem Cell Therapy for Parkinsons
Japanese stem cell treatment for Parkinson's set for US trialsMonkeys Aren't Human and Animal \"Models\" of Parkinson's Disease Aren't Actually Parkinson's Disease, BUT This Stem Cell Trial Offers Hope!
Too young for Parkinson's Disease
Stem cells treatment with stemaid 
