Research-towards-stem-cell-treatments

16 September 2015

This week researchers at the University of Saskatchewan and Harvard Medical School have been talking about their research using skin cells to replace brain cells lost in Parkinson's.

Stem cells carry real hope as a treatment and potential cure for people with Parkinson's.

Dr Beckie Port, Research Communications Officer

The research study that has been highlighted in press and social media today could represent a step towards new a treatment for the condition.

But clinical trials in people are still a long way off.

Stem cells and Parkinson's

People with Parkinson's don't have enough of a chemical called dopamine because some of the brain cells that produce this chemical have died.

For people with the Parkinson's, the hope is that we will be able to grow new dopamine-producing brain cells from stem cells.

And that these could one day be used to replace the cells that are lost in Parkinson's.

What the research team are doing

The Canadian research team is testing a new therapy that uses new dopamine-producing cells made from skin cells to repair the brain in an animal model of Parkinson's.

They hope that the experiments they are doing now in the lab will lead to clinical trials in people with Parkinson's within the next couple of years.

A step towards stem cell treatments for Parkinson's

Dr Beckie Port, Research Communications Officer, comments:

"Stem cells carry real hope as a treatment and potential cure for people with Parkinson's.

It is an exciting time for stem cell research in Parkinson's, but therapies for people with Parkinson's based on this research are still some way off.

"However, we need to be sure that the cells that are transplanted will work safely and effectively.

"The researchers are still testing this therapy in animal models of Parkinson's.

"At the same time research using brain cells made from foetal stem cells is happening in the UK.

"It is an exciting time for stem cell research in Parkinson's, but therapies for people with Parkinson's based on this research are still some way off."

- See more at: http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/news/16-september-2015/research-towards-stem-cell-treatments-parkinsons#sthash.KZJGHFwj.dpuf