International Stem Cell Corp., developer of a revolutionary parthenogenetic stem cell source that avoids the use of human embryos in addition to greatly reducing the critical problem of immune matching, was given a positive write-up by Ray Blanco in the Breakthrough Technology Alert subscriber newsletter (http://dtg.fm/ZO4w).
The newsletter emphasizes how ISCO will soon be entering into important clinical trials as part of its neural stem cell technology program for treating Parkinson’s disease. The company has already completed preclinical studies, and is now working with Duke University to carry out the groundbreaking clinical trials.
The company’s Parkinson’s program uses human parthenogenetic neural stem cells (hPNSC), a novel therapeutic cellular product derived from the company’s proprietary histocompatible human pluripotent stem cells. The hPNSC are self-renewing mulitpotent cells that are precursors for the major cells of the central nervous system. These hPNSC have the remarkable ability to differentiate into dopaminergic neurons and express neurotrophic factors such as glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to protect the nigrostriatal system. Together, this represents a breakthrough opportunity for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, especially in cases where current dopamine-replacement approaches fail to adequately control the symptoms. The traditional approach of simply implanting dopaminergic neurons in the brain to replace dead or dying cells has never been satisfactory, and the hope is that this new line of attack will be a game changer.
The article highlights key advantages to the ISCO technology, pointing out that dying dopaminergic neural cells, which leads to Parkinson’s, also provoke an inflammatory reaction in the brain which causes further problems, an inflammation that ISCO stem cells appear to reduce. In addition, it mentions how using neural stem cells allows the brain’s biology to decide how many new dopaminergic stem cells to create and when to create them. This means that the brain can make additional cells as needed.
For additional information, visit www.InternationalStemCell.com
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