Bilateral Transplantation of Allogenic Adult Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into the Subventricular Zone of Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Clinical Study

N K Venkataramana,Arun L Naik,Majahar Jan,Ravindra B Kamble,Krishna Chaitanya,D P Murthy,Rakhi Pal,C C Sanjeev,Shailesh A V Rao,Rahul Nair

doi:10.1155/2012/931902

Abstract

The progress of PD and its related disorders cannot be prevented with the medications available. In this study, we recruited 8 PD and 4 PD plus patients between 5 to 15 years after diagnosis. All patients received BM-MSCs bilaterally into the SVZ and were followed up for 12 months. PD patients after therapy reported a mean improvement of 17.92% during “on” and 31.21% during “off” period on the UPDRS scoring system. None of the patients increased their medication during the follow-up period. Subjectively, the patients reported clarity in speech, reduction in tremors, rigidity, and freezing attacks. The results correlated with the duration of the disease. Those patients transplanted in the early stages of the disease (less than 5 years) showed more improvement and no further disease progression than the later stages (11–15 years). However, the PD plus patients did not show any change in their clinical status after stem cell transplantation. This study demonstrates the safety of adult allogenic human BM-MSCs transplanted into the SVZ of the brain and its efficacy in early-stage PD patients.

Highlights

Shaking Palsy (Paralysis Agitans) or Parkinson’s disease (PD) was originally described by James Parkinson in 1817 as “Involuntary tremulous motion, with lessened muscular power, in parts not in action and even when supported; with a propensity to bend the trunk forwards, and to pass from a walking to a running pace: the senses and intellects being uninjured” [1].Ever since the first description, scientists have pursued the causes and treatment of the disease
Our primary aim was to forestall the progress of the disease and secondly help in restoration of neural functions. This is the first paper to demonstrate that bilateral allogenic transplantation of adult bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells is safe and has beneficial neuroprotective and neurorestorative effects in PD patients
It is essential to expose the degenerating brain to the exogenous stimulus of stem cells, while the in situ neuroregenerative reservoir of stem cells is present that is, in the early part of the disease

Summary

Introduction

Shaking Palsy (Paralysis Agitans) or Parkinson’s disease (PD) was originally described by James Parkinson in 1817 as “Involuntary tremulous motion, with lessened muscular power, in parts not in action and even when supported; with a propensity to bend the trunk forwards, and to pass from a walking to a running pace: the senses and intellects being uninjured” [1]. Ever since the first description, scientists have pursued the causes and treatment of the disease. It is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder due to selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in the Substantia Nigra (SN) and the presence of proteinaceous inclusions known as Lewy bodies [2]. The causes of idiopathic Parkinson-disease (IPD) are believed to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Even immune-mediated mechanisms are being suggested for the progression and to explain the drug resistance that happens with time [2, 3]

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