United States: Parkinson’s disease patients have the potential to receive beneficial stem-cell transplant treatments soon.
Parkinson’s disease patients received stem cell transplants in small trials, which tested safety primarily while researchers at two teams discovered the cells started producing dopamine to alleviate Parkinson’s symptoms, as reported in Nature Journal.
More about the news
According to Dr. Mya Schiess, a neurology professor at UTHealth Houston who was not involved in either study, the results indicate that “now we have the potential to really, really halt this disease in its tracks,” npr.org reported.
Before approval, the Food and Drug Administration has granted clearance to a stem-cell therapy for a Phase 3 clinical study.
Parkinson’s disease attacks dopamine-producing brain cells, which leads to approximately 1 million persons in the United States developing the condition.
Patient deaths of dopamine-producing neurons result in various disabling Parkinson’s symptoms that include tremors, muscle rigidity, exhaustion, walking problems, and reductions in cognitive ability.
A great hope…
— Manuela Casasoli (@manuelacasasoli) April 17, 2025
"Two hotly anticipated clinical trials using stem cells to treat people with #Parkinson’s disease have published encouraging results."#Science #Biology #Neuroscience #Brain
⏯️‘Big leap’ for Parkinson’s treatment: symptoms improve in stem-cells trials… pic.twitter.com/rpeqmqxWHq
Unspecialized cells, known as stem cells, possess the ability to transform into various cell kinds, among which are dopamine-producing neurons.
How did experts reach a conclusion?
Researchers performed one of the new studies with twelve people who had Parkinson’s disease and resided between the United States and Canada.
BlueRock Therapeutics, under the Bayer pharmaceutical umbrella, provided neurosurgeons with two different stem-cell product doses, which they used for medical procedures.
Scientists obtained human embryonic stem cells to create neuron progenitors, which later became the basis of their treatment.
Doctors inserted the cells into the brain structure, which controls movement activity during surgical procedures.
Furthermore, as per Dr. Viviane Tabar, a stem-cell scientist and chair of neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, “The idea is to place these neuron progenitors right where you need them to connect with other neurons in the brain,” npr.org reported.