Brain cells from pigs might help treat Parkinson’s patients | New York … – New York Post

Posted: Published on June 13th, 2017

This post was added by Dr Simmons

Pig brain cells could be the key to treating people with Parkinsons disease, according to early trials of a promising new treatment that implants the cells into a patients brain.

Living Cell Technologies, the company that developed the technique, reports that four patients in New Zealand have shown significant improvement after undergoing the procedure 18 months ago. The procedure has already proven successful in rats.

Parkinsons is a progressive neurological disease that slowly kills the brain cells that make dopamine, which helps control movement. Patients can take medicine to replace the dopamine but theres currently no cure or treatment to slow the diseases progression. More than 10 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinsons.

The new treatment takes cells from a pigs choroid plexus and places them into tiny capsules which are then inserted into the patients brain. This region of the pigs brain hosts a mixture of chemicals that researchers hope will slow the onset of Parkinsons by keeping a humans dopamine-producing cells alive and well. The capsules are created out of an ingredient from seaweed that stops the brains immune cells from attacking the pig cells.

The four patients each received 40 capsules in one side of their brain.

Its putting in a little neurochemical factory to promote new cell growth and repair, Ken Taylor, who helped create the treatment, told The New Scientist.

In May, 18 additional patients received 120 pig cell capsules in a second, placebo-controlled trial. The trials results are expected to be released in November.

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Brain cells from pigs might help treat Parkinson's patients | New York ... - New York Post

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