In mid-February, the first stem cell transplant took place in the STEM-PD study at Lund University.

This is an important milestone in the development of cell therapy that can be used to treat Parkinson’s patients. The transplant went ahead as planned and the location of the cells was confirmed with brain imaging, says Jessen Paul-Vess, trial director for the clinical part of the STEM-PD study, chief physician in neuroscience at Skåne University Hospital and co-author. Professor at Lund University, at press release.

He is the first of eight patients with Parkinson’s disease who have now received transplanted dopamine-producing stem cells.

– The patient has left the hospital and assessments will now take place according to study protocol, says Jessen Paul-Vice.

The patients in the study had Parkinson’s disease for at least ten years and had moderately severe symptoms. The researchers will follow the patients continuously after transplantation to assess cell viability and efficacy. The outcome of the STEM-PD study can be expected within a few years at the earliest.

about studying

  • STEM-PD study It is a stem cell-based, “first in human” clinical trial for people with Parkinson’s disease.
  • The goal is to replace the dopamine-producing cells lost during the disease with new, healthy neurons and restore the level of dopamine in the brain.
  • STEM-PD is a product of dopamine cells and the study will investigate whether transplanted dopamine-forming neurons generated from embryonic stem cells can replace neurons lost in Parkinson’s disease.
  • It is the first clinical trial in Europe of this cell type in Parkinson’s disease.
  • The neuroscience team from the Clinical Trials Unit in Cambridge and the Neuroresearch Unit at University Hospital Skien manage the clinical part of the study.

source: Lunds University