Japan succeeds in improving Parkinson's symptoms with iPS cells
A Japanese group said Thursday that it succeeded in improving symptoms of Parkinson's disease patients with nerve cells produced from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
Symptoms improved in four of the patients participating in a clinical trial in which nerve cells made from iPS cells were transplanted into their brains, said Kyoto University Hospital and the national university's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA).
Sumitomo Pharma, which supplied the nerve cells, plans to apply for a state approval for the treatment under a fast-track system for regenerative medicine products that gives approvals on certain conditions for use over limited periods.
The Osaka-based company aims to gain such an approval within this fiscal year at the earliest. A paper on the clinical trial was published on the British journal Nature.
Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative condition in which motor function is impaired due to a decrease in nerve cells that produce dopamine, a chemical that works in the brain.
Japan is believed to have about 290,000 people with the disease. While symptomatic treatment using drugs is available, no fundamental cure has been established.
Between 2018 and 2023, Kyoto University Hospital and CiRA transplanted 5 million to 10 million dopamine neurons made from iPS cells into the central part of the brains of seven patients between the ages of 50 and 69. The institutes observed the progress for two years to examine the effectiveness and safety.
As a result, no serious side effects were seen in any of the seven. In the six patients checked to see whether the treatment was effective, dopamine nerve activity increased after the transplantation and the amount of dopamine in the brain also rose.
Motor function improved in four of them. Younger patients with milder symptoms tended to show bigger improvements, according to the institutes.
"The treatment has been shown to be effective in patients. It's a great achievement," said Jun Takahashi, professor at CiRA. "We hope to deliver the cell transplant treatment to many patients as soon as possible."
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