Reprogrammed skin cells inserted in brain help Parkinson's patient regain function: study

Record ID: 1552212

  • Title: Reprogrammed skin cells inserted in brain help Parkinson's patient regain function: study
  • Date: 13th May 2020
  • Summary: BELMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (MAY 13, 2020) (REUTERS VIA ZOOM) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY LABORATORY AT MCLEAN HOSPITAL, DR. KWANG-SOO KIM, SAYING: "That's very hard to tell because we just performed a single-patient case. And how long did it take for the phase one, two and then a larger scale? And then eventually this is proven to be
  • Embargoed: 28th May 2020 00:11
  • Keywords: Belmont Hospital Harvard Kwang-Soo Kim Parkinson's disease brain disorder neurogenerative disorder tremors
  • Location: BELMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES / LEEDS, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: BELMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES / LEEDS, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA008CDRIU6Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Skin cells reprogrammed to produce the neurotransmitter dopamine and inserted deep into the brain of a 69-year-old man with Parkinson's disease have allowed him to tie his shoes again and resume swimming and biking, researchers reported in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday (May 13).
    The experimental treatment, initiated two years ago and financed partly by the patient, used the man's own skin cells to create dopamine-releasing nerve cells. Using his own cells dramatically lowers the risk of rejection by the immune system.
    Parkinson's, a progressive disease that affects millions of people worldwide, produces tremors, stiffness, and problems walking and speaking as the dopamine-producing cells in the brain degenerate.
    Researchers say the transformed skin cells, transplanted into both hemispheres of the brain in surgical procedures six months apart, continued to produce the dopamine needed to ease the Parkinson's symptoms.
    There have been no side effects from the treatment, "there is no sign of outgrowth of cells, so we are so relieved," lead researcher Dr. Kwang-Soo Kim, who directs the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, told Reuters.
    The treatment reduced the time the patient's medications were failing to control his symptoms to less than an hour a day from an average of three hours prior to the transplant. It also allowed for a small reduction in the dose of medication he takes.
    The patient provided $2 million to help speed the early research. Additional funding came from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
    On a 157-point quality-of-life scale, where lower numbers indicate fewer problems with Parkinson's, the patient went from a starting score of 62 down to 2 after 24 months.
    The research team stressed that these results are from a single patient. But coauthor Dr. Jeffrey Schweitzer of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston characterized them as "extremely encouraging" in a news release.
    "This type of therapy, or more specifically, patient-derived in a cell, using a cell and personalized cell therapy is a totally novel concept at this point," Kim said. "And whether novel concept can be a standard therapy is a big question and we are really working hard on that."
    (Production by: Dan Fastenberg)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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