A new treatment for Parkinson’s disease is undergoing clinical trials, building on successful preliminary studies with non-human primates at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This novel approach involves transplanting dopaminergic neuronal progenitor cells into the brain, a method refined through collaboration between researchers and Aspen Neuroscience. Initial results are promising, paving the way for potential breakthroughs in the management of Parkinson’s symptoms.
A clinical trial has begun to offer a new treatment to people with Parkinson’s disease, following a study by University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists. This study, conducted on non-human primates, confirmed that the therapeutic delivery method is safe and feasible. Parkinson’s disease damages neurons in the brain that produce dopamine , a brain chemical that transmits signals between nerve cells.
The disrupted signals make it progressively harder to coordinate even simple movements and cause rigidity, slowness, and tremors that are the disease’s hallmark symptoms. Patients are typically treated with drugs like L-DOPA to increase dopamine production. Although the drugs help many patients, they present complications and lose their effectiveness over time.
Researchers at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center successfully grafted brain cells called dopaminergic neuronal progenitor cells into the brains of cynomolgus macaque monkeys. California-based Aspen Neuroscience provided the cells, g.