Article Abstract:
Transplantation of fetal brain tissue containing dopamine cells may be an effective and safe treatment for Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of brain cells that produce dopamine. A study compared four Parkinson's disease patients who underwent transplantation of fetal brain tissue to three who did not undergo transplantation. The transplantation procedure was carried out successfully in all four patients. After transplantation, three patients who underwent transplantation experienced improvement in their motor skills and their ability to carry out daily activities. A PET scan of one patient revealed dopamine production in one area of his brain after transplantation. The fourth patient died within four months of transplantation from complications of Parkinson's disease. Patients who underwent transplantation required a lower dose of the medication used to control their disease compared with those who did not undergo transplantation.
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Article Abstract:
Transplantation of fetal brain tissue may be an effective treatment for patients with Parkinson's disease caused by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease is a disorder caused by an injury to the brain cells that produce dopamine. Two immunosuppressed patients with severe MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease underwent transplantation with fetal brain tissue containing dopamine cells on both sides of their brain. Both of the patients experienced significant improvement in their motor skills and their ability to carry out daily activities after transplantation. One patient was able to decrease the dose of anti-Parkinson's medication received each day by 70%. The uptake of fluorodopa by either side of the brain was almost twice as high in both patients 12 to 13 months and 22 to 24 months after transplantation than before transplantation.
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Article Abstract:
Symptoms of disease in patients with Parkinson's disease may be improved by grafting fetal brain tissue into the brains of Parkinson's patients. A 59-year-old man who had Parkinson's disease for eight years underwent surgery to graft brain tissue from seven fetuses into his brain. The surgery improved the patient's motor functions to the point that he could carry out activities of daily living and take part in an exercise program. He was able to reduce the amount of medication he had been taking before the surgery. The patient died of a large blood clot in the lung 18 months after the surgery. His brain was autopsied, and it showed evidence that the fetal grafts had survived, grown, and become integrated with his brain.
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