Parkinson's Disease Cell Therapy

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative and movement disorder affecting dopamine-producing neurons in a brain region called the substantia nigra.

For several decades the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Neurosurgery and Department of Neurology have led in patient care for those with Parkinson's disease and advancing clinical research to develop new treatments with the hope of creating a cure. 

Mass General physicians, in collaboration with researchers from McLean hospital, recently reported on a patient that underwent a novel neurosurgical technique to treat their Parkinson's disease, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In this study, led by Jeffrey S. Schweitzer, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon in the Department of Neurosurgery, Todd M. Herrington, MD, PhD, director of the Deep Brain Stimulation Program in the Department of Neurology, and Bob S. Carter, MD, PhD, chief of Neurosurgery and in collaboration with Kwang-Soo Kim, PhD, director of the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at McLean Hospital, clinicians surgically transplanted dopamine neurons derived from the patient's own stem cells into the brain. The patient reported improved motor function in daily life and experienced no adverse effects, but larger, randomized controlled trials will be necessary to demonstrate efficacy (read the press release).

Below are patient resources on Parkinson's disease related centers at Mass General and research news items.

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Breakthrough Research Updates

• Collaboration in Developing New Cell Therapy

• First-In-Human Therapy with Stem Cell–derived Dopaminergic Progenitor Cells for Parkinson's Disease

• Patient-Derived Dopamine Neurons Show Promise in Parkinson’s Treatment

• Using Stem Cells to Treat Movement Disorders

• New Treatments for Parkinson's Disease May Be Able to Rely on Patients' Own Stem Cells

Clinical and Research Centers

• Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Clinic has earned the prestigious qualification of Parkinson Disease Center of Excellence from the National Parkinson Foundation. The clinic is also the clinical arm of the Mass General/MIT Udall Center for Excellence in Parkinson's Research

• Massachusetts General Hospital Deep Brain Stimulation Program provides deep brain stimulation as a treatment for a variety of neurological disorders including Parkinson’s disease and different types of dystonia.

• The MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MIND) aims to conduct research and translate laboratory discoveries into prevention, treatment and cures for Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases.