Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

Scientists take ‘important step’ in stem cell therapy to treat Parkinson’s

Scientists take ‘important step’ in stem cell therapy to treat Parkinson’s

Chinese Academy of Sciences team discovered a new technique they say improved efficacy and safety in study on mice.

Chinese researchers have discovered a new technique they say improved the efficacy and safety of stem cell therapy in mice models of Parkinson’s disease.

The team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said their study findings paved the way for potentially developing a stem cell therapy to treat the disease.

The researchers identified two cell surface markers of dopamine neurons, which are damaged or destroyed in the midbrain of someone with Parkinson’s disease.

They then injected cells with these markers into the brains of mice, which they found could significantly improve the dopamine neurons in the midbrain – a key step in the treatment of the disease.

The finding “represents a revolutionary step on the road towards more effective and safer stem cell therapies”, according to the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation on Tuesday.




Neurological disorders are the leading source of disability globally, and Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s. There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, but the symptoms can be managed with medications and other therapies.

Worldwide, some 6.1 million people had Parkinson’s disease in 2016, according to the Lancet’s Global Burden of Disease Study in 2018. That number is expected to double to more than 12 million by 2040.

In China, it is estimated that the number of Parkinson’s disease patients could rise to about 5 million by 2030, accounting for half of the world’s cases.

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder affected by the impairment or death of cells in deep parts of the brain called the substantia nigra, which produces the neurotransmitter dopamine and controls body movement.

When 60 to 80 per cent of dopamine is lost, Parkinson’s symptoms such as tremor and balance problems occur.

Stem cell therapy is considered to be a promising treatment strategy because the disease is caused by the loss of one type of cell from a certain spot in the brain.

“Parkinson’s disease is the most suitable one [for stem cell therapy] because it is very clear which cells are lost and where should they be transplanted,” said Chen Yuejun, corresponding author of the study and a researcher with the CAS.

However, previous studies have generated both target and off-target neuronal cells during transplantation, resulting in low efficacy and uncertainty around safety.

“Our study wanted to answer two questions – why the previous studies generated more than a dozen off-target cells, and how we could enrich [certain] cells,” said Chen, who heads the Laboratory of Neural Differentiation and Regeneration at the CAS.

Stem cell therapy is seen as a promising strategy to treat Parkinson’s disease.


Chen and the team did a single-cell sequencing of dopaminergic neurons and found that the off-target cells were generated in areas near the midbrain.

They also found two markers that could facilitate highly enriched dopaminergic neurons after transplantation.

The percentage of neurons could be as high as 80 per cent in the transplant area, according to the paper. That compares to about 10 per cent in two recent preclinical studies.

“The study established a method for obtaining highly purified donor cells that can be transplanted with stable and predictable cell therapy results,” the authors said in a statement on the CAS website.

“It is an important step towards more effective and safer cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
×