Neuronal transplantation therapy for Parkinson' disease

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By the support of Grant - in Aid for Scientific Research (C) from 1990 to 1991, we have investigated the effect of sympathetic ganglion transplantation on abnormalities in experimental animal model of Parkinson's disease.Ten monkeys (macaca fuscata) were induced Parkinson's syndrome by repeated injection of MPTP. In 7 monkeys, the autologous superior cervical ganglion (SCG) was transplanted bilaterally into the caudate nuclei. One monkey received transplantation of a fragment of temporal muscle as a sham operation, and two monkeys having no transplantation after the MPTP treatment served as control. Six out of 7 monkeys that had received the SCG transplantation revealed increased motor activity 1 - 3 weeks after transplantation. The sham and control monkeys failed to show improvement on MPTP - induced parkinsonism. Catecholamine histofluorescence showed many catecholamine cells in the graft and extension of catecholamine fibers into the host brain. Homovanillic acid (HVA), a metabolite of dopamine, content in the CSF decreased after MPTP treatment, which was followed by an increase after the SCG transplantation.Four out of 7 monkeys receiving SCG transplantation were carefully observed for 1 - 2 years after the transplantation. They showed neither recurrence of parkinsonism nor significant side effects such as abnormal behaviors and epilepsy. One monkey was sacrificed 25 months after the transplantation, its brain was observed catecholamine histofluorescence. In this monkey, many dopamine cells and fibers had been lost in the substantia nigra and the striatum, respectively. In the head of the caudate nucleus, the transplanted tissue containing many catecholamine cells and fibers had survived.These results demonstrate that SCG transplantation ameliorates parkinsonism in experimental animal model. This transplantation therapy should be considered in patients with Parkinson's disease.