Washington, Dec 5: U.S. medical scientists claim that brain cells derived from neural stem cells can help improve Parkinson`s disease symptoms.

In a study on mice, the scientists found that the rodent’s brain continued to function normally rather than display the progressive loss of movement control that characterizes the disease.

“We are very cautious but to us, it’s an indication that stem cells have promise for Parkinson’s disease,” says Dr. Cesario V. Borlongan, neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia also the corresponding author of the study.

Borlongan says that the transplants were done shortly after a neurotoxin was used to destroy neurons that make dopamine, a neurotransmitter key to movement control. This would be equivalent to a patient getting treatment very early in the disease process, which rarely happens since there is no screening test to catch it early.

The researchers noted that the animals that received transplants regained control of their movement, while those receiving traditional treatment did not recover. Those that received neurotrophic factors, called stem cell factors, recovered partially.

The stem cell factor protected cells in a dose-dependent fashion.

“The more stem cell factor, the better the protection,” Borlongan says.

When the cells were co-cultured with stem cells, protection was further increased. When they used an antibody to block the stem cell factor, neuro-protection was significantly reduced.

“This again shows a combination of factors at work. It’s a synergistic effect,” says Borlongan.

Parkinson’s disease does a lot of damage to dopaminergic cells even before its symptoms start showing. It is associated with abnormal movement, such as tremors, loss of these cells makes it difficult for people to move and, once they move, they can’t control the movement.

The standard treatment is L-dopa, a synthetic dopamine that tends to minimize symptoms for three to five years. As the disease progresses and the drug becomes less effective, doses are increased and can produce more dyskinesia, loss of controlled movement.

The research is published in the current issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. (ANI)