Transplanted
Dopamine Neurons are affected by the
Parkinson’s Disease process
Newswise — A new
groundbreaking study published in Nature
Medicine has implications for the future of
transplantation and stem cell therapies as a
treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
The study also provides
a critical clue into the nature of
Parkinson’s disease itself. Researchers at
Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Rush
University Medical Center have discovered
that dopamine cells that have been
transplanted into the brain of patients with
Parkinson disease develop pathologic changes
characteristic of Parkinson’s disease (Lewy
bodies) and do not appear to function
normally (reduced staining for dopamine
transporter).
Researchers were able
to perform an autopsy and study brain tissue
from a patient who received a dopamine
transplant 14 years earlier.
“We found that newly
implanted dopamine cells can also be
affected by the Parkinson’s disease
process,” said Dr. C. Warren Olanow, M.D.,
F. R. C. P (C), Professor and Chairman of
Neurology and Director of The Robert and
John M. Bendheim Parkinson’s Disease Center
at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
“Dopamine cells are
transplanted into the brain of PD patients
in the hope that they can replace those that
degenerate and thereby improve symptoms of
the disease. This study shows that implanted
cells can become affected by the disease
process and thereby limits the long-term
utility of this approach.”
In the study, the
patient improved initially but then
deteriorated. These findings have important
implications for the use of stem cells as a
treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
According to
researchers, these new findings also have
important implications on what causes PD. It
argues against the theory that PD is due to
a single event like an infection which
causes initial damage to cells triggering
their gradual degeneration over time.
Rather, these findings suggest that the
disease process is ongoing and can damage
newly implanted cells.
“While, on the one
hand, these results may sound disappointing,
this information is crucially important if
we are to develop better therapies for PD.
The more knowledge we gain about the nature
of the disease, the better our chances to
find the cause of why cells degenerate and
to develop a treatment that can protect
them,” said Dr. Olanow. “These findings also
do not mean that transplant strategies such
as stem cells can not be made to work – our
findings just represent another obstacle
that will have to be overcome”.
Current treatments for
managing Parkinson’s disease include various
medications and surgery, including Deep
Brain Stimulation or DBS. Parkinson's
disease is a movement disorder that is
chronic and progressive, with symptoms
continuing and worsening over time.
Common symptoms include
tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw, face
rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and
trunk, slowness of movement and impaired
balance and coordination.
About The Mount Sinai Medical
Center
The Mount Sinai Medical
Center encompasses The Mount Sinai Hospital
and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The
Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation’s
oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary
hospitals.
Founded in 1852, Mount
Sinai today is a 1,171-bed tertiary-care
teaching facility that is internationally
acclaimed for excellence in clinical care.
Last year, nearly 50,000 people were treated
at Mount Sinai as inpatients, and there were
nearly 450,000 outpatient visits to the
Medical Center.
Mount Sinai School of
Medicine is internationally recognized as a
leader in groundbreaking clinical and
basic-science research, as well as having an
innovative approach to medical education.
With a faculty of more than 3,400 in 38
clinical and basic science departments and
centers, Mount Sinai ranks among the top 20
medical schools in receipt of National
Institute of Health (NIH) grants.