School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
University of Melbourne, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Cell Transplant. 2024 Jan-Dec;33:9636897241246355. doi: 10.1177/09636897241246355.
The quest for new and improved therapies for Parkinson's disease (PD) remains of paramount importance, despite previous trial failures. There is a current debate regarding the potential of stem cell research as a therapeutic approach for PD. The studies of dopaminergic fetal stem cells for PD treatment, their design, and the results of the initial surgical placebo-controlled trials were reviewed in this study. Some of the fundamental methodological challenges and possible strategies to resolve them were proposed. In this article, we argue that the most important impact lies in the proof-of-principle demonstrated by clinical trials for cell replacement strategies in reconstructing the human brain. While some researchers argue that the considerable technical challenges associated with cell therapies for PD warrant the discontinuation of further development using stem cells, we believe that the opposing viewpoints are instrumental in identifying a series of methodological misunderstandings. Here, we propose to expose key challenges to ensure the advancement of the field and unlock the potential of stem cell therapies in PD treatment. Overall, this review underscores the need for further research and innovation to overcome the hurdles in realizing the potential of stem cell-based therapies for PD.
尽管先前的试验失败了，但寻找治疗帕金森病（PD）的新方法和改进疗法仍然至关重要。目前，干细胞研究作为 PD 治疗方法的潜力存在争议。本研究回顾了用于 PD 治疗的多巴胺能胎儿干细胞的研究、设计以及初步手术安慰剂对照试验的结果。提出了一些解决基本方法学挑战的可能策略。在本文中，我们认为最重要的影响在于临床试验为重建人脑的细胞替代策略提供了原理证明。虽然一些研究人员认为与 PD 细胞疗法相关的重大技术挑战需要停止进一步使用干细胞的开发，但我们认为，相反的观点有助于确定一系列方法学误解。在这里，我们提出了一些关键挑战，以确保该领域的发展，并释放 PD 治疗中干细胞疗法的潜力。总的来说，这篇综述强调了需要进一步研究和创新，以克服实现基于干细胞的 PD 治疗潜力的障碍。
