New York, April 4 (IANS): An implant of stem cells treated with an anti-cancer drug has been found to be effective against Parkinson's symptoms in mice. The findings published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience could be an important step toward using the implantation of stem cell-generated neurons as a treatment for Parkinson's disease in humans. Using a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved anti-cancer drug, the researchers were able to grow dopamine-producing neurons derived from embryonic stem cells that remained healthy and functional for as long as 15 months after implantation into mice, restoring motor function without forming tumours. "This simple strategy of shortly exposing pluripotent stem cells to an anti-cancer drug turned the transplant safer, by eliminating the risk of tumour formation", said the leader of the study Stevens Rehen, professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in Brazil. Parkinson's, which affects as many as 10 million people in the world, is caused by a depletion of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain. Several studies have indicated that the transplantation of embryonic stem cells improves motor functions in animal models. However, until now, the procedure was shown to be unsafe because of the risk of … Continue reading →

Brazilian researchers at D'OR Institute for Research and Education (IDOR) and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) have taken what they describe as an important step toward using the implantation of stem cell-generated neurons as a treatment for Parkinson's disease. Using an FDA approved substance for treating stomach cancer, Rehen and colleagues were able to grow dopamine-producing neurons derived from embryonic stem cells that remained healthy and functional for as long as 15 months after implantation into mice, restoring motor function without forming tumors. Parkinson's, which affect as many 10 million people in the world, is caused by a depletion of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain. Current treatments include medications and electrical implants in the brain which causes severe adverse effects over time and fail to prevent disease progression. Several studies have indicated that the transplantation of embryonic stem cells improves motor functions in animal models. However, until now, the procedure has shown to be unsafe, because of the risk of tumors upon transplantation. To address this issue, the researchers tested for the first time to pre-treat undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem cells with mitomycin C, a drug already prescribed to treat cancer. The substance blocks the DNA replication and … Continue reading →