Professor Jun Takahashi is involved in one trial expected to report results soon, in which researchers used donor-derived iPS cells to generate neurons that produce dopamine. They implanted these into the brains of seven people with Parkinson’s disease between 2018 and 2021. Takahashi says that no severe adverse events have been observed so far. Participants are being observed for two years after surgery, and their neurological symptoms will be assessed, with results expected in 2024. “The best scenario is that the patients’ symptoms get better,” he says.
If Jun Takahashi’s and Sawa’s trials demonstrate strong evidence of clinical efficacy without side effects, the treatments could become the first to get conditional approval to be sold in Japan, as part of the government’s fast-track programme for regenerative medicines.
Currently following are the ongoing stem cell trials for Parkinson's:
BlueRock Therapeutics,
a subsidiary of Bayer since August 2019, develops iPSC-derived cell therapies to target Parkinson’s disease, heart failure, and ocular diseases.BlueRock Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Bayer since August 2019, develops iPSC-derived cell therapies to target Parkinson’s disease, heart failure, and ocular diseases.
Kyoto University Hospital,
in partnership with the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), is performing a physician-led study of iPSC-derived dopaminergic progenitors in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Aspen Neuroscience is combining stem cell biology and genomics to provide the world’s first autologous induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neuron replacement therapy for Parkinson disease.
Of course, there are also numerous physician-led studies underway in Japan investigating the use of iPSC-derived cellular products inhuman patients. These clinical trials are for diseases such as macular degeneration, ischemic cardiomyopathy, Parkinson’s disease, solid tumors, spinal cord injury (SCI) and platelet production.
The cost of iPS-cell treatment will depend on the approach taken. Approaches using autologous stem cells (Loring et al.) will likely cost a lot more than approaches using allogenic stem calls (Takahashi).
Here is a quote from a 2018 PNT article that discussed Jeanne Loring's work with autologous iPS cells:
"The biggest downside to this technology is its cost, which is still fairly high, but Loring says the economic burden would not be higher in comparison with other personalized cell therapies, such as CAR-T cell therapies — priced at roughly $500,000."
In contrast to this, here is a quote from a 2018 Mainichi article that discussed Jun Takahashi's work with allogeneic iPS cells:
"The researchers are aiming to develop the method as a new treatment covered by national health insurance."
Has anyone been aware of the stem cell clinical trial that commenced 6 years ago in Melbourne Australia. The trial was with 12 volunteers with follow up every months for 6 years. I know as i was the first to start the trial. At 5 years the surgeon conducting the trial told me that my PD was not advanced as he expected. The first 4 had 30 million transplanted, the next 4 had 40 million, the final 4 had 50 million. Have the stem cells worked, I do not know, perhaps the answer is in the future. If they have worked we will have to wait
Are you saying you had stem cells implanted 6 years ago? Just stem cells and not cells coaxed to become dopamine cells? How has it changed your Parkinson's symptoms?
'Please do a goole search using the Royal Melbourne Hospital clinical trials Parkinson's disease as a starting point.. You may be able to find more on the trial when they interview the surgeon. The interview was on the following TV stations, Channel 7, Channel 9 , Channel 10 and SBS.What they did not say was the stem cells were taken from a Russian women they were unfertilsed, they were sent to they were sent to a lab, in they USA where they underwent evaluation , It is tis time the RMH came on the scene. they felt that the stem cells passed the test. If you cannot find anything doing a Google search I may have a link to it.
A few of us have been eagerly following this trial. If you put "ISCO" in the search box, you will see posts about the trial going back a number of years.
These days, the only news seems to come from their end-of-financial-year press releases, the last one having a date of March 30, 2022. My guess is that things will carry on this way for the next few years at least.
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