Neurodegenerative diseases impact millions of people worldwide with the risk of being affected by one of these diseases increasing as you get older. For many of these diseases, there are very few treatments available to patients. As life expectancy increases and the population continues to age, it is crucial to try and find treatments that can potentially slow the progression of these diseases or cure them entirely. This is one of the reasons why CIRM has committed directing around $1.5 billion in funding over the next few years to research related to neurological disorders.

One of the most common neurodegenerative diseases is Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a movement disorder that affects one million people in the U.S alone and leads to shaking, stiffness, insomnia, fatigue, and problems with walking, balance, and coordination.  It is caused by the breakdown and death of dopaminergic neurons, special nerve cells in the brain responsible for the production of dopamine, a chemical messenger that is crucial for normal brain activity.

A recent study published in Nature Medicine has shown improved motor function and growth of neurons over a two year period in monkeys modeling PD. The study was conducted by Su-Chun Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. and his team at the University of Wisconsin using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a kind of stem cell that can become virtually any type of cell that can be made from skin cells. The hope is that these results can pave the way for starting human clinical trials.

In order to replicate PD in humans, the team injected 10 adult monkeys with a neurotoxin that produces PD like symptoms. As a result of this, all 10 monkeys developed slow movements, imbalances, tremors, and impaired coordination in the hand on the opposite side of the injection. Additionally, scans revealed that on the injected side, monkeys lost most brain activity involving dopamine in two key brain areas. The team then waited three years after injecting the neurotoxin before administering the therapy, during which time the monkeys’ symptoms persisted.

To generate iPSC lines, the team obtained skin cells from five of the monkeys. The iPSCs were then turned into dopamine neural progenitor cells, which have the ability to create dopamine. These newly created cells were then administered into the brains of the five monkeys, with each monkey receiving a treatment derived from their own skin cells. A sixth iPSC line from a donor monkey was used for the remaining five monkeys to see how the treatment would work if it was not derived from their own skin cells.

The results showed that the monkeys that received the treatment derived from their own skin cells recovered. These animals moved more, moved faster, and were nimbler than before the treatment. They gained the ability to grasp treats, use all four limbs for walking, and climb their cages with ease and increased agility. However, the monkeys that received iPSCs derived from a donor did not recover. Their symptoms remained unchanged or worsened compared to before the treatment.

In a news article, Zhang emphasizes how he and his team are proceeding with a treatment derived from one’s own cells (autologous) vs. one from a donor (allogeneic).

“I initially wanted to do allogeneic transplants in patients because the autologous approach is too expensive. However, after seeing [our] data, I changed my mind. I want to go with the autologous first… because I feel the chance of success is really, really high.”

CIRM is currently funding a human clinical trial ($5.5 million) that is using a gene therapy approach for PD.