Halifax Neural Transplantation Program
The Halifax Fetal Transplantation Program is the only Program of its
kind in Canada and has been in the forefront of neural transplantation
research in the country.
Phase I of the Fetal Transplantation Program in Halifax was approved
four and a half years ago after exhaustive ethical review. Several
committees assessed the scientific merit of the proposal.
Both the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University and the Victoria
General Hospital committees consulted with leading ethical and scientific
experts across the country and around the world before arriving at their
decision.
Phase I involved the implantation of fetal neural cells into the
striatum of five Parkinson's disease patients and then monitoring their
progress. The procedure was found to be safe, there was neither mortality
nor serious complications. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans showed
evidence of continuing flurodopa uptake, indicating that dopaminergic
neurons did indeed survive transplantation and continued to mature and
function. Clinical function exhibited a steady trend of deterioration during
the 6 months prior to the operations, this trend persisted for about two
months into the post-operative period. This was followed by a trend towards
a lessening of the severity of symptoms, i.e., slowing down of the previous
rate of deterioration.
Phase II of the clinical trial is currently underway and will last
approximately 3 years.
Halifax Neural Transplantation Patient Registry
We have set up a registry of Parkinson's patients at the Victoria
General Hospital. We will enter patients who contact us and send any news
that is released on the program.
To refer patients please write to the Halifax Neural Transplantation
Program Coordinator at:
QE II Health Sciences Centre
Victoria General Hospital Site
Bethune Building, Room 404
1278 Tower Rd.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 2Y9
Fax: 902-428-3343
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Tanya Acorn, B.Sc., M.Sc.
John Cottingham "The parkinsn list brings Knowledge, Comfort, Hope, and
Homeboy Friendship to the parkinsonian world."
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