Cambridge researchers will play a key role in clinical trials of a new treatment that involves transplanting healthy nerve cells into the brains of patients with Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
Cambridge researchers will play a key role in clinical trials of a new treatment that involves transplanting healthy nerve cells into the brains of patients with Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
This could transform the way we treat Parkinson鈥檚 disease
Roger Barker
探花直播Swedish Medical Products Agency has granted approval for the trial to proceed; ethical approval has already been obtained from the Swedish Ethics Review Authority. 探花直播team, led from Lund 探花直播 in Sweden, is poised to听begin recruitment.
STEM-PD uses human embryonic stem cells, a type of cell that can turn into almost any type of cell in the body. 探花直播team has 鈥榩rogrammed鈥 the cells to develop into dopamine nerve cell, which will be transplanted into the brains of patients to replace cells that are lost in Parkinson鈥檚 disease. 探花直播product has already been shown to be safe and effective at reverting motor deficits in animal models of Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
探花直播trial is a collaboration with colleagues at Sk氓ne 探花直播 Hospital, the 探花直播 of Cambridge, Cambridge 探花直播 Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), and Imperial College London.
Professor Roger Barker from the Wellcome-MRC Stem Cell Institute at the 探花直播 of Cambridge and CUH is clinical lead on the project. 鈥 探花直播use of stem cells will in theory enable us to make unlimited amounts of dopamine neurons and thus opens the prospect of producing this therapy to a wide patient population. This could transform the way we treat Parkinson鈥檚 disease鈥
This is the first such trial in Europe and the preclinical and clinical studies of STEM-PD have been funded by national and EU funding agencies. In addition, the STEM-PD team has obtained听funding and听valuable support for the current study from Novo Nordisk; a collaboration which will continue for future product development.
探花直播cells to be used in the trial have been manufactured under 鈥榞ood manufacturing practice鈥 at the Royal Free Hospital in London and have undergone rigorous testing in the lab.
Professor Malin Parmar who leads the STEM-PD team from Lund 探花直播 said: 鈥淲e are looking forward to this clinical study of STEM-PD, hoping that it could potentially help reduce the significant burden of Parkinson鈥檚 disease. This has been a massive team effort for over a decade, and the regulatory approval is a major and important milestone.鈥
探花直播STEM-PD trial will assess safety and tolerability of the transplanted product one year after transplantation, measuring the effects on Parkinson鈥檚 symptoms. 探花直播trial will enrol eight patients for transplantation, starting with patients from Sweden, and with subsequent plans for enrolment of patients also from Cambridge 探花直播 Hospitals. All transplantation surgery will be performed at Sk氓ne 探花直播 Hospital in Lund.
Parkinson鈥檚 disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide, yet remains without a cure. Typical motor symptoms of Parkinson鈥檚 disease are slowness of movement, tremor and stiffness and later also gait difficulties. It is not well known how the disease arises or develops, but the core feature common to all patients is the loss of dopamine neurons in the midbrain.
Suitable patients will be invited to participate in the trial; it is not possible to volunteer to participate.
Adapted from a press statement from Lund 探花直播
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