Researchers in the US have delivered human neurons, that are damaged in Parkinson’s, into monkeys as a new approach for treating the condition, with the first trials set to start in patients.
In Parkinson’s, dopaminergic neurons, responsible for producing the brain chemical dopamine, are damaged and progressively lost, leading to a loss of movement and co-ordination that is a hallmark of the condition.
A team led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) and Aspen Neuroscience, California, developed an approach to replace these lost neurons by first growing them from human stem cells, before transplanting them into the brains of monkeys.
The researchers injected the neurons into the back of the skull, an angle that allows for fewer insertions and lowers the risk of infection and trauma, as well as the time spent under anesthesia.
Five of the six monkeys in the study retained the human neurons after a week, and a higher number of the neurons were observed after 30 days, indicating that the transplants were successful in helping to replace dopaminergic neurons.
Andrés Bratt-Leal, at Aspen, said: “The results were instrumental in opening our first-in-human trial and informing how we deliver patients’ own cells to them in the study.”