Improved Stem Cell Approach Can Help Fight Parkinson's Disease

Improved stem cell approach could help in the development of the promising treatment to fight Parkinson's disease, reveals a new study.

Improved stem cell approach could pave the way for the development of the promising treatment to fight Parkinson's disease, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the European Journal of Neuroscience.//

Scientists have taken a key step towards improving an emerging class of treatments for Parkinson's disease.

Stem Cell Therapy - Basics
Stem cell therapy or regenerative medicine uses undifferentiated cells for the treatment of conditions like leukemia.

‘Improved stem cell approach could help in the development of the promising treatment known as cell replacement therapy, thereby treating Parkinson's disease effectively, reveals a new study.’
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The advance could markedly improve the next generation of therapies for the condition, which affects around one in 350 people in the UK.

It could aid development of the promising treatment - known as cell replacement therapy - which was first used in a clinical trial this year. Experts hope the approach, which involves transplanting healthy cells into parts of the brain damaged by Parkinson's, could alleviate symptoms such as tremor and balance problems.

The latest development addresses limitations in the treatment in which, over time, transplanted tissue can acquire signs of disease from nearby cells.

About Stem Cells
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general info about Stem Cells

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have created stem cells - which have the ability to transform into any cell type - that are resistant to developing Parkinson's.

They snipped out sections of DNA from human cells in the lab using advanced technology known as CRISPR. In doing so, they removed a gene linked to the formation of toxic clumps, known as Lewy bodies, which are typical of Parkinson's brain cells.

Researchers Identify First Step in Strategy for Cell Replacement Therapy in Parkinson's Disease
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are a promising avenue for cell replacement therapy in neurologic diseases.

In lab tests, the stem cells were transformed into brain cells that produce dopamine - a key brain chemical that is lost in Parkinson's - in a dish. The cells were then treated with a chemical agent to induce Lewy bodies.

Cells that had been gene-edited did not form the toxic clumps, compared with unedited cells, which developed signs of Parkinson's.

Parkinson’s Disease - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease caused by progressive dopamine brain cells loss. Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are correctable to an extent.

Researchers say the advance could be most beneficial to younger patients living with Parkinson's and those with an aggressive form of the condition, but that the advance had to be tested in human trials.

The study was funded by the UK Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology, the pharmaceutical company UCB Biopharma and The Cure Parkinson's Trust.

Dr. Tilo Kunath of the Medical Research Council's Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, who led the study, said: "We know that Parkinson's disease spreads from neuron-neuron, invading healthy cells. This could essentially put a shelf life on the potential of cell replacement therapy. Our exciting discovery has the potential to considerably improve these emerging treatments."

Dr. Simon Stott, Deputy Director of Research for the Cure Parkinson's Trust said, "Cell replacement therapy represents one experimental approach to regenerative medicine for people with Parkinson's. This new research by Dr. Tilo Kunath and his team at the University of Edinburgh provides another advancement in the development of this treatment. The Cure Parkinson's Trust is thrilled to be associated with this inspiring and innovative research."

Source-Eurekalert