Cell therapy in Parkinson's disease

The pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease is a gradual loss of nigrostriatal dopamine-containing neurons and is responsible for cardinal motor symptoms of the disease. Current therapeutic strategies are mostly based on pharmacological enhancement of the doparninergic neurotransmission. This therapeutic approach has several long-term side effects, such as dyskinesias and fluctuations of response and is therefore limited in its use. Transplantation of fetal dopaminergic precursor cells has provided the proof that a cell replacement therapy can ameliorate clinical symptoms in affected patients. Novel therapies aiming at a stimulation of an endogenous dopamine production within the brain at a continuous rate might provide a more physiological and elegant way to overcome the dopaminergic deficiency in parkinsonian brains. This article will review recent studies demonstrating the potential of these alternative cell graft sources for treating Parkinson's disease.