Japan Makes Medical History! World's First Stem Cell-Based Brain Surgery For Parkinson's Patients
Synopsis
A patient in Japan has received the world's first stem-cell treatment for Parkinson's disease using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells at Kyoto University Hospital. The therapy aims to replace destroyed dopamine-producing brain cells to address the root cause of the progressive condition.
A Japanese pharma company claimed Friday (Oct. 30) that a patient has been given the world's first stem-cell treatment for Parkinson's disease. Japanese regulators gave provisional approval in March to Sumitomo Pharma’s therapy after successful clinical studies including the transplantation of millions of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which can differentiate into any cell type, into the patient’s brain.
"The first transplant was performed at Kyoto University Hospital in October," the company said in an earnings press release on Friday. It gave no further details.
Parkinson’s is a chronic brain condition afflicting more than 10 million individuals worldwide. It progressively destroys motor function and creates tremors. Existing treatments address symptoms, but don’t stop the disease. Sumitomo Pharma’s therapy attacks the source. Scientists take mature cells donated by a person and convert them back to adaptable iPS cells. They then produce new dopamine-producing brain cells to replace those that were killed by the disorder.
Today there are medicines that relieve symptoms but do not reduce or stop the course of the disease, according to the organization. Sumitomo Pharma uses healthy donor-derived iPS cells, grown into progenitors of dopamine-producing brain cells no longer seen in persons with Parkinson's.
In the clinical research, seven individuals ages 50 to 69 got implants of five million or 10 million cells on both sides of the brain. They were watched for two years. There were no significant side effects and four individuals saw symptom relief.
Sumitomo Pharma said on Friday it intends to do 20 to 30 transplants by March 2029. The business is also running a clinical trial in the U.S. Local media say the treatment will be fully approved in Japan if it proves safe and effective over the following seven years.
The news follows a month after a hospital in Osaka performed the world’s first operation employing sheets of heart muscle iPS cells that can help build new blood arteries and restore heart function. Japan also granted conditional clearance for such treatment in March.