March 04, 2009 08:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time
BrainStorm's Stem Cell Technology Demonstrates Efficacy in an Experimental Model of Parkinson's Disease- Paper Published in "Stem Cells and Development"
NEW YORK & PETACH TIKVAH, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today'
The research, which appears in the online edition of "Stem Cells and Development" is the second recent peer-reviewed publication demonstrating the potential promise of BrainStorm's technology, which induces human adult stem cells to become cells that release Neurotrophic Factors (NTF cells). A publication last month by the same scientific team documented that engrafted human NTF cells survived and expressed neuronal markers after 120 days and acted to regenerate the damaged dopaminergic nerve system in the same rodent model of Parkinson's disease.
Today's findings resulted from experiments conducted by Dr. Daniel Offen in collaboration with colleagues at BrainStorm and at the Tel-Aviv University. They demonstrate that cells processed using BrainStorm's technology produce and secrete significant amounts of essential factors for brain cell function, including Glial cell line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). Moreover, the cells transplanted into the standard rodent model of Parkinson's disease, reduced the motor dysfunction by 50%, inhibited the induced dopamine depletion and restored the dopaminergic cell's terminals. In lay terms, all of those findings are consistent with attenuating the tremor and other motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease.
In addition to the marked improvement in symptoms, the study also demonstrated via Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and subsequent histological assessment that the transplanted cells migrated toward the experimentally-
Prof. Eldad Melamed, Professor of Neurology at the Tel Aviv University and BrainStorm's Chief Medical Advisor adds, "On the basis of our findings, we suggest that autologous transplantation of NTF cells, originally derived from a patient's own bone marrow, may become a novel and potent treatment for Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)."
The use of adult stem cells avoids recently demonstrated concerns of tumor growth in association with fetal stem cell implantation, as well as the attendant ethical issues. Moreover, the use of the patient's own cells for the NTF cell therapy avoids the potential for graft rejection and the need for long-term administration of immunosuppressive anti-rejection agents.
"Pharmaceutical approaches to treating Parkinson's, ALS, and other neurodegenerative diseases have largely failed, as evidenced by the dearth of clinical candidates in pharma pipelines," said Prof. Jonathan Javitt of Johns Hopkins University, a BrainStorm board member and senior medical advisor to both Clinton and Bush administrations, "until the advent of patient-derived stem cell therapy, the safety risks associated with stem cell therapy were considered a major barrier to human therapy. The fact that human cells can be modified into therapeutically valuable cells and survive even when transplanted into an animal model suggests that those same cells may be even more valuable and viable when injected into the patient from whom they were derived."
"We at BrainStorm believe that this and previously published work in leading peer-reviewed Stem Cell and Neuroscience journals demonstrate the extraordinary promise of BrainStorm's stem cell technology to alleviate the suffering of millions afflicted with neurodegenerative diseases. BrainStorm is planning with G-d's help to start its preclinical safety trials for ALS this year to be followed immediately by Phase I Clinical trials for ALS to be conducted in Israel," says Chaim Lebovits, BrainStorm's President.
Contacts
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics
Rami Efrati, CEO, +972-3-9236384 or +972-54-4237074
efrati@brainstorm-
http://www.business
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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1 comment:
Its good to know that there are new cures coming as a result of research to cure Parkinson's stem cell. parkinson s stem cell therapy
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