2017 Volume 34 Issue 3 Pages 146-150
The central nervous system has very little if any potential for regeneration. That is why cell replacement therapy is needed for functional recovery in neurodegenerative diseases. Human embryonic stem cells emerged in 1998, and induced pluripotent stem cells in 2007. Thanks to the development of these pluripotent stem cells, we are now able to manipulate sufficient quantity and quality of donor cells for stem cell–based therapy. For Parkinson's disease, protocols to establish induced pluripotent stem cells and to induce dopaminergic neurons have been developed up to clinical grade, and preclinical data about the efficacy and safety of these cells exist for rodent and monkey models. Based on these efforts, clinical trials against neurodegenerative disease are soon expected.
