Journal
JOURNAL OF PARKINSONS DISEASE
Volume 8, Issue -, Pages S131-S137Publisher
IOS PRESS
DOI: 10.3233/JPD-181488
Keywords
Dopamine neurons; Parkinson's disease; stem cell therapy
Categories
Funding
- New York Stem Cell Foundation
- European Research Council
- Swedish Research Council
- Swedish Parkinson Foundation (Parkinsonfonden)
- Strategic Research Area at Lund University Multipark and Stem Therapy
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS)
- Michael J. Fox Foundation
- C.V. Starr Foundation
- New York State Department of Health/Empire State Stem Cell Board
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Current approaches to cell replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease are strongly focused on the dopamine system, with the view that restoring dopaminergic inputs in a localized and physiologic manner will provide superior benefits in terms of effect and longevity compared with oral medication. Experience using transplants of fetal tissue containing dopaminergic cell precursors has provided valuable proof that the approach is feasible, and that engrafted cells can survive and function over many years. However, multiple drawbacks and procedural complications are recognized in using fetal cells. Recent strides in stem cell technology now make it possible to overcome some of the barriers associated with fetal tissue. In particular the generation of high numbers of specific cell types, such as dopaminergic neurons, from stem cells means that quality, consistency, activity, and safety can be more thoroughly determined prior to transplantation, thus providing hope for more robust outcomes. These cells are also predicted to provide benefit without leading to the graft-induced dyskinesia that led to morbidity in a subset of individuals who underwent fetal mesencephalic cell and tissue grafting in the 1990s. In thinking about developing such novel therapeutics, the choice of starting material has also expanded, with the availability of multiple human embryonic stem cell lines, as well as the possibilities for producing induced pluripotent cells, or neuronal cells from a patient's own tissue. In this article, we speculate on how rapidly expanding knowledge and technical possibilities may impact on stem cell-based therapies for cell replacement in Parkinson's disease over the next two decades.
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