Hello list:
Stem cellsd have been at the forefront, but,
here is another example alternative cell transplant experimentation.
You will recall that the 3 year follow up study of fetal implants
by Freed indicated differences between age groups in how well
the implant survived. This study addresses that.
Freed is one of the authors.
I am curious about the details of "embryonic dopamine cell implantation".
Not stem cells, but, embryonic.
Ray
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Ann Neurol 2001 Aug;50(2):181-7
Blinded positron emission tomography study of dopamine cell implantation for
Parkinson's disease.
Nakamura T, Dhawan V, Chaly T, Fukuda M, Ma Y, Breeze R, Greene P, Fahn S, Freed
C, Eidelberg D.
Functional Brain Imaging Laboratory, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Research
Institute, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA.
We assessed nigrostriatal dopaminergic function in Parkinson's disease (PD)
patients undergoing a double-blind, placebo-controlled surgical trial of
embryonic dopamine cell implantation. Forty PD patients underwent positron
emission tomography (PET) imaging with [18F]fluorodopa (FDOPA) prior to
randomization to transplantation or placebo surgery. The 39 surviving patients
were rescanned one year following surgery. Images were quantified by
investigators blinded to treatment status and clinical outcome. Following
unblinding, we determined the effects of treatment status and age on the
interval changes in FDOPA/PET signal. Blinded observers detected a significant
increase in FDOPA uptake in the putamen of the group receiving implants compared
to the placebo surgery patients (40.3%). Increases in putamen FDOPA uptake were
similar in both younger (age < or = 60 years) and older (age > 60 years)
transplant recipients. Significant decrements in putamen uptake were
evident in
younger placebo-operated patients (-6.5%) but not in their older counterparts.
Correlations between the PET changes and clinical outcome were significant only
in the younger patient subgroup (r = 0.58). The findings suggest that patient
age does not influence graft viability or development in the first postoperative
year. However, host age may influence the time course of the downstream
functional changes that are needed for clinical benefit to occur.
PMID: 11506400 [PubMed - in process]
.......................................................
Ray Strand
Prairie Sky Design
-----------------( on the Edge of the Prairie Abyss )---------------
when the sky is clear
the ground is visible
49/dx PD 2 yrs/40? onset
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