Monday, January 30, 2023
Khmer Daily Cambodia News
34 °c
Phnom Penh
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
The Khmer Daily
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Reprogrammed skin cells inserted in brain help Parkinson’s patient regain function: Study

May 14, 2020
in World
0
Reprogrammed skin cells inserted in brain help Parkinson’s patient regain function: Study
0
SHARES
9
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Skin cells reprogrammed to produce the neurotransmitter dopamine and inserted deep into the brain of a 69-year-old man with Parkinson’s disease have allowed him to tie his shoes again and resume swimming and biking, researchers reported in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

The experimental treatment, initiated two years ago and financed partly by the patient, used the man’s own skin cells to create dopamine-releasing nerve cells. Using his own cells dramatically lowers the risk of rejection by the immune system.

Parkinson’s, a progressive disease that affects millions of people worldwide, produces tremors, stiffness, and problems walking and speaking as the dopamine-producing cells in the brain degenerate.

Researchers say the transformed skin cells, transplanted into both hemispheres of the brain in surgical procedures six months apart, continued to produce the dopamine needed to ease the Parkinson’s symptoms.

There have been no side effects from the treatment, and by retraining the patient’s own cells, “we solved the rejection problem,” lead researcher Dr. Kwang-Soo Kim, who directs the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., told Reuters.

The treatment reduced the time the patient’s medications were failing to control his symptoms to less than an hour a day from an average of three hours prior to the transplant. It also allowed for a small reduction in the dose of medication he takes.

“The neurons survive and they still function,” Kim said.

“This is the first patient with Parkinson’s to be treated with his own personalised cell therapy. The improvement was modest but there are many more studies to be done,” said Kim.

The patient, identified by statnews.com as George “Doc” Lopez, a physician, businessman and inventor, provided $2 million (S$2.8 million) to help speed the early research. Additional funding came from the US National Institutes of Health.

On a 157-point quality-of-life scale, where lower numbers indicate fewer problems with Parkinson’s, the patient went from a starting score of 62 down to 2 after 24 months.

The research team stressed that these results are from a single patient. But coauthor Dr. Jeffrey Schweitzer of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston characterized them as “extremely encouraging” in a news release.

Altogether, about 4 million cells were placed in three spots in the brain involved in movement.

Whether implanting additional cells would allow the patient to get sufficient dopamine, “that’s the million-dollar question,” Kim said. “Hopefully he continues to improve and we can reduce his medication more.”

This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.

Tags: #Medical#science#study
Previous Post

Plans for ‘digitalisation’ of Cambodia Gov’t underway

Next Post

Philippines evacuates 200,000 people as typhoon makes landfall

Related Posts

Italian Olympic gold medallist skater Fontana hints at US switch

Italian Olympic gold medallist skater Fontana hints at US switch

by AsiaOne
January 28, 2023
0
3

MILAN - Italy’s most decorated female Olympian, record breaking short track speed skater Arianna Fontana, has hinted she might switch...

5 Chinese citizens killed in California shooting: Consulate

5 Chinese citizens killed in California shooting: Consulate

by AsiaOne
January 28, 2023
0
4

BEIJING – Five Chinese citizens were among the victims in a shooting in the California town of Half Moon Bay, the...

5 ex-Memphis police officers charged with murder in death of Tyre Nichols

5 ex-Memphis police officers charged with murder in death of Tyre Nichols

by AsiaOne
January 28, 2023
0
2

Five former Memphis police officers were charged on Thursday (Jan 26) with murder in the death of a Black motorist,...

Most Popular

Passenger in Nepal plane crash livestreams last seconds of his life on Facebook

Passenger in Nepal plane crash livestreams last seconds of his life on Facebook

January 18, 2023
31
Nepal plane crash searchers rappel, fly drones to find last passengers

Nepal plane crash searchers rappel, fly drones to find last passengers

January 18, 2023
25
Cambodia PM says Cambodia’s economy maintained 5.5 pct growth rate

Cambodia PM says Cambodia’s economy maintained 5.5 pct growth rate

January 2, 2023
19
Belt and Road Initiative projects will help Cambodia become an upper-middle income country: Cambodian expert

Belt and Road Initiative projects will help Cambodia become an upper-middle income country: Cambodian expert

January 4, 2023
18
Prince William feared Prince Harry was being ‘brainwashed’ by his therapist

Prince William feared Prince Harry was being ‘brainwashed’ by his therapist

January 9, 2023
17
Rescuers in Vietnam race against time to save boy trapped in concrete pile

Rescuers in Vietnam race against time to save boy trapped in concrete pile

January 2, 2023
17

© 2020 By Khmer Daily News

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Cambodia
  • ASIA
  • World
  • Business
  • Tech

© 2019 The Khmer Daily.

error: Content is protected !!