Breakthrough in brain repair for Parkinson’s Disease

November 22, 2017 - Damian Cullen

Research carried out by team at Galway Neuroscience Centre and CÚRAM

Neuroscientists at NUI Galway have claimed to have made a breakthrough in regenerative medicine approaches to Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s is a condition that primarily affects a person’s ability to control movement leading to a progressive deterioration in ability. The symptoms of the condition are caused by the degeneration and death of brain cells that regulate movement. Brain repair for Parkinson’s involves replacing the dead cells by transplanting healthy brain cells back into the brain, but the widespread roll-out of this therapy has been hindered by the poor survival of the implanted cells.

The research, carried out by a team at the Galway Neuroscience Centre and CÚRAM – the Science Foundation Ireland Centre for Research in Medical Devices – based at NUI Galway has shown that the survival of the transplanted cells is dramatically improved if they are implanted within a supportive matrix made from the natural material collagen.

Picture depicts brain repair in Parkinson’s: transplanted brain cells survive better when implanted in collagen. Photo: NUI Galway

US civil rights activist Rev Jesse Jackson announced last week that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

“The collagen provides the cells with a nurturing, supportive environment in the brain and helps them to survive the aversive transplant process,” said lead author of the research paper, Dr Eilis Dowd.

The research was published on Wednesday in the Nature journal, Scientific Reports.

The work will be presented at the upcoming Network for European CNS Transplantation and Restoration (NECTAR) conference which is being hosted by Dr Dowd in Dublin from the December 6th-8th, 2017. The event will feature leading scientists from the US, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, who will present their latest research on brain repair for Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s.

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/breakthrough-in-brain-repair-for-parkinson-s-disease-1.3301518