International Stem Cell Corp., a California-based biotechnology company developing novel stem cell-based therapies, recently announced the latest results from its Parkinson’s disease program at the American Neurological Association’s (ANA) 2013 Annual Meeting. The ANA’s annual conference took place just this past weekend. The findings were regarding neural stem cells (NSC) and their potential to provide therapeutic benefit through multiple mechanisms of action, including migration to the site of injury, secretion of neurotrophic factors, immunomodulation, cell replacement, and recovery of endogenous neurons.
According to the company’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. R. Semechkin, “These results are important because they establish a solid foundation for the clinical use of neural stem cells for the treatment of Parkinson’s diseases. This also potentially opens up a number of other neurological indications, for example Alzheimer’s disease, with this cellular product.”
This new data was obtained as part of the company’s collaboration with the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute. The new findings include:
• Results showing that the NSC migrate a significant distance from the site of implantation in the striatum to the substantia nigra where the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons primarily occurs in Parkinson’s patients. Additionally, no evidence of migration outside the brain was observed.
• The stem cell-derived NSC elicited a lower immunogenic response compared with other cell types included in the study, an important safety consideration for allogeneic cell transplantation.
• The study conclusively showed that the NSC differentiated post injection in the brain into the specific type of neurons lost in the disease. These new cells replace the neurons destroyed by the disease and produce the neurotransmitter, dopamine, required to alleviate the symptoms.
International Stem Cell Corporation’s Parkinson’s disease program uses human pluripotent stem cells to derive human parthenogenetic neural stem cells (hPNSC), a therapeutic cellular product that offers great promise into treatment of Parkinson’s disease, especially in cases where current dopamine-replacement approaches fail to adequately control the symptoms.
More information, including in-depth scientific explanations behind the company’s treatment efforts and products, can be found at: www.InternationalStemCell.com
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