The promising findings, reported in Rejuvenation Research, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, highlight the potential for a non-invasive approach to cell therapy delivery in Parkinson’s disease, a safer and effective alternative to surgical transplantation of stem cells. In this groundbreaking study, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) delivered via the nose preferentially migrated to the brain and were able to survive for at least 6 months. Substantial improvement in motor function, up to 68% of normal, was reported in the MSC treated rat model of Parkinson’s disease. Levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine were significantly higher in affected rat brain regions exposed to MSCs compared to the non-treated brain regions.(21)
Mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including: osteoblasts (bone cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells) and adipocytes (fat cells) (17)
But there are still ethical issues on usage of embryonic stem cells, which are the most useful stem cells for treatment. The problem is that when stem cells are obtained from living human embryos, the harvesting of such cells necessitates destruction of the embryos.
In contrast to research on embryonic stem cells, non-embryonic stem cell research has already resulted in numerous instances of actual clinical benefit to patients. For example, patients suffering from: Parkinson’s disease, autoimmune diseases, stroke, anemia, cancer, immunodeficiency and corneal damage experienced improved function following administration of therapies derived from adult or umbilical cord blood stem cells. The long-held belief that non-embryonic stem cells are less able to differentiate into multiple cell types or be sustained in the laboratory over an extended period of time rendering them less medically-promising than embryonic stem cells, has been repeatedly challenged by experimental results that have suggested otherwise. (19)
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