|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEW YORK, Mar 07 (Reuters Health) - Patients with Parkinson's disease experience significant improvements after receiving transplants of brain cells that produce dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain, study findings suggest.
Parkinson's disease results from a loss of such dopamine-producing cells in certain areas of the brain, so it stands to reason that replacing these cells could improve the condition, according to Dr. Curt Freed from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, and associates.
Most studies of this technique were small and subject to bias, so the investigators compared the results of brain cell transplants in 20 patients, with results of mock surgery in 20 patients in which no brain cells were transplanted.
According to the results of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), patients under age 60 who received transplants improved significantly more while off their medicines than did similar patients who underwent mock surgery.
When only the movement scores were compared, both older and younger patients who had transplants performed better than did patients who received no brain cells, the authors report in the March 8th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The amount of tremor did not differ between the patient groups, the researchers note. Nor did the doses of their medications or the side effects they experienced.
Special imaging studies and autopsies in two patients (who died from causes unrelated to their Parkinson's disease) confirmed the growth of the transplanted dopamine-producing cells, the report indicates.
Patients followed up to 3 years after transplant surgery experienced an average 28% increase (34% for younger patients) in their overall UPDRS scores, according to the results.
"Even though outcome has been variable, these studies show that transplanted cells can modify a severe neurodegenerative disease like Parkinson's," Freed told Reuters Health. "Refinements of transplantation methods will likely yield more predictable results for individual patients."
In a related editorial, Drs. Gerald Fischbach and Guy McKhann from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke echo this hope: "The brain is a most complex structure, so incremental results on the way to cures are to be welcomed rather than dismissed as less than perfect."
Brain cell transplants are limited by the same shortages faced by other organ transplant procedures. "Embryonic dopamine cell transplantation is an evolving strategy for treating Parkinson's disease, but is limited by the availability of fetal tissue," Freed explained. "If and when a laboratory-produced dopamine cell becomes available, the number of centers able to do neurotransplants will increase considerably."
SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine 2001;344:710-719, 763-765.
| Health Topics | Drug Information | Dictionaries | Directories | Other Resources |
|
U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894
Copyright and Privacy Policy, We welcome your comments. Last updated: 08 March 2001 |