Human retinal pigment epithelial (hRPE) cells are dopaminergic support cells in the neural retina. Stereotaxic intrastriatal implantation of hRPE cells attached to gelatin microcarriers (Spheramine®) in rodent and non-human primate models of Parkinson's disease (PD) produces long term amelioration of motor and behavioral deficits, with histological and PET evidence of cell survival without immunosuppression. Long-term safety in cynomologous monkeys has also been demonstrated. Six H&Y stage III/IV PD patients were enrolled in a one-year, open-label, single center study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Spheramine (∼325,000 cells) implanted in the most affected post-commissural putamen. All patients tolerated the implantation of Spheramine® well and demonstrated improvement. At 6, 9, and 12 months post-operatively, the mean UPDRS-Motor score "off", the primary outcome measure, improved 33%, (n = 6), 42% (n = 6), and 48% (n = 3), respectively. No "off-state" dyskinesias have been observed. Based on these preliminary results, Spheramine® appears to show promise in treating late stage PD patients.
CITATION STYLE
Watts, R. L., Raiser, C. D., Stover, N. P., Cornfeldt, M. L., Schweikert, A. W., Allen, R. C., … Bakay, R. A. E. (2003). Stereotaxic intrastriatal implantation of human retinal pigment epithelial (hRPE) cells attached to gelatin microcarriers: A potential new cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease. In Journal of Neural Transmission, Supplement (pp. 215–227). Springer Wien. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-0643-3_14
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