Japanese researchers on Monday announced the first human trial using a kind of stem cell to treat Parkinson’s disease, building on earlier animal trials. The research team at Kyoto University plans to inject five million induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells — which have the potential to develop into any cell…
Japanese researchers on Monday announced the first human trial using a kind of stem cell to treat Parkinson’s disease, building on earlier animal trials.
The research team at Kyoto University plans to inject five million induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells — which have the potential to develop into any cell in the body — into patient brains, the university said in a press release.
The iPS cells from healthy donors will be developed into dopamine-producing brain cells, which are no longer present in people with Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects the body’s motor system, often causing shaking and other difficulties in movement.
Worldwide, about 10 million people have the illness, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. Currently, available therapies «improve symptoms without slowing or halting the disease progression,» the foundation says.
