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---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cells from testicles may help with Parkinson's disease ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (September 30, 1997 01:39 a.m. EDT http://www.nando.net) - Cells from testicles may help repair the damage done in Parkinson's disease, U.S. researchers said on Monday. They said rats with symptoms of Parkinson's -- which causes uncontrollable shaking and eventually dementia and death -- were helped when cells from rat testicles were implanted into their brains. Paul Sanberg and colleagues at the University of South Florida used Sertoli cells from the testicles. These cells are involved in sperm production, helping to nurture and protect the developing sperm cells. They also found that nerve cells from embryonic rats grew better when products of Sertoli cells were put into a test tube with them. "The results suggest that Sertoli cells may help regrow the neural connections to the brain lost in Parkinson's, or keep the remaining dopamine-producing brain cells alive," Sanberg said in a statement. The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Nature Medicine, said perhaps human Sertoli cells could help people with Parkinson's. All medical research starts on animals and does not necessarily translate to humans. In Parkinson's, the brain cells that produce dopamine gradually die off. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or message-carrying chemical, important to movement. Drugs try to mimic the effects of dopamine but do not last long and efforts to transplant brain cells have not worked well either. Copyright 1997 Nando.net http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/health/093097/health35_9369_noframes.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask]