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TOKYO: Japanese researchers announced Friday that they have transplanted stem cells into the brain of a patient in the first phase of an innovative trial to cure Parkinson's disease.
The research team at Kyoto University has injected inducing pluripotent stem cells (iPS) into the brain of a 50-year-old patient, potentially transformed into body cells, the university said in a statement. Press release.
The man was stable after the operation, which took place last month, and he will now be under surveillance for two years, the university added.
The researchers injected 2.4 million iPS cells into the left side of the patient's brain during an operation that lasted about three hours.
If no problem is observed over the next six months, they will implant an additional 2.4 million cells in the right side.
Healthy donor iPS cells have been transformed into precursors of dopamine-producing brain cells, which are no longer present in people with Parkinson's disease.
The operation took place after the university announced in July that it would run the trial with seven participants aged 50 to 69 years old.
This is the first time that we need to implant stem cells in the brain to cure Parkinson's disease.
"I appreciate the patients for their participation in the trial with courage and determination," Jun Takahashi, a professor at Kyoto University, told reporters on Friday to the media, according to NHK state television. .
Parkinson's disease is a chronic degenerative neurological disorder that affects the body's motor system, often causing tremors and other movement difficulties.
According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, about 10 million people have the disease.
Currently available treatments "improve symptoms without slowing or stopping the progression of the disease," says the foundation.
The human process comes after a previous trial involving monkeys.
Researchers announced last year that primates with Parkinson's symptoms had found significant mobility after the insertion of iPS cells into their brains.
They also confirmed that iPS cells did not turn into tumors within two years of implantation.
IPS cells are created by stimulating mature, already specialized cells to return them to a juvenile state – essentially cloning without an embryo.
Cells can be transformed into a variety of cell types and their use is a key area of medical research.
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