Utilization of human embryonic stem cells… Asia’s first clinical trial
A study showed that administering embryonic stem cell-derived midbrain dopamine neuron therapy to Parkinson’s disease patients resulted in symptom improvement in just one year.
Utilization of human embryonic stem cells… Asia’s first clinical trial
The research team of Professor Pil-Hyu Lee of the Department of Neurology at Severance Hospital and Professor Jin-Woo Jang of the Department of Neurosurgery at Korea University Anam Hospital performed low-dose and high-dose transplants on 12 patients with Parkinson’s disease and examined their condition a year later, revealing that their symptoms had improved. Severance Hospital plans to follow up and monitor progress for up to two years after transplantation according to the clinical trial plan.
Even though they had previously received dopamine drug treatment, they experienced side effects such as drug exhaustion, which reduces the drug’s effectiveness, or freezing of gait, which causes difficulty in walking. However, one year after receiving the treatment, I started playing badminton and table tennis, and the discomfort in my daily life was greatly reduced.
The research team measured the degree of improvement in symptoms for 3 people in each group who had been administered low dose (3.15 million cells) and high dose (6.3 million cells) for one year among the total 12 subjects. Based on the Hohenya scale, which classifies Parkinson’s disease symptoms into stages 1 to 5 according to severity, the low-dose group improved by an average of 19.4% (stage 3.7 → stage 3), and the high-dose group improved by an average of 44.4% (stage 3.7 → stage 2). Done. The degree of improvement at high doses means improvement from a severe condition to an initial condition.
Based on the Parkinson’s Assessment Scale, which evaluates objective motor performance and increases the score as it becomes more severe, the low-dose group improved by an average of 22.7% (a 12.7-point decrease), and the high-dose group improved by an average of 25.3% (a 13-point decrease). The side effect of gait freezing, which temporarily stops movement when walking or changing directions, disappeared in 1 out of 2 people in the low-dose group, and all of the 3 people in the high-dose group (3 people) disappeared and returned to normal. Some recipients showed significant improvement in their Parkinson’s rating scale, up to 40.7% (22 points decrease) after one year.
In dopamine brain imaging, an increase in the engraftment signal of dopamine cells that secrete dopamine was observed, and the increase in signal was especially large at high doses. The increased signal in brain imaging showed a direct correlation with patient efficacy indicators, which showed effectiveness as evidence of the treatment mechanism. Dopamine is a substance that helps people move smoothly, and is secreted in small amounts in Parkinson’s disease patients.
Professor Kim Dong-wook of the Department of Physiology at Yonsei University College of Medicine, the developer of the treatment, said, “The cell therapy we developed uses human embryonic stem cells, so it has excellent therapeutic effects in Parkinson’s disease and has reduced typical side effects such as freezing of gait and loss of drug efficacy.” “As a patient who had been suffering for a long time started enjoying badminton and walking after receiving the treatment, this fundamental treatment will contribute to helping patients regain a healthy life,” he said. S-Biomedics is responsible for manufacturing and supplying Parkinson’s disease cell therapy products.
