CELLS from the necks of patients with Parkinson鈥檚 disease could be used to
treat their symptoms, a study in Spain suggests.
The disease鈥檚 tremors and rigidity are caused by the destruction of neurons
that produce the brain chemical dopamine. A team led by Jos茅
L贸pez-Barneo at Seville University relieved Parkinson-type symptoms in
rats by transplanting certain neck cells into their brains. These cells release
dopamine when the blood is low in oxygen.
The cells responded in the same way in the oxygen-poor environment of the
brain (Neuron, vol 20, p 197). If this works in humans, transplant
therapy could become much more common. Doctors now rely on dopamine cells from
aborted fetuses.
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