Facial injection of mesenchymal stem cells, a new option for Parkinson's treatment
Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disease, and it is the "third biggest killer" faced by middle-aged and elderly people after tumors and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
At present, Parkinson's disease cannot be completely cured, which brings heavy mental pressure and economic burden to patients and their families, and seriously affects their quality of life.
Stem cells are also being held in high hopes in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Recently, scientists from the United States and Spain cooperated to use mesenchymal stem cells to help two Parkinson's patients relieve their conditions, which made people turn their attention to stem cells again.
This is a case study in which researchers transplanted stem cells into the facial tissue of two Parkinson's disease patients and found sustained reductions in the patients' motor and non-motor symptoms, lower medication doses, and improved quality of life.
The researchers used a subset of cells isolated from adipose tissue, a mixture of mesenchymal stem cells and other cells, commonly referred to as the stromal vascular fraction (SVF). These cells are anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and also stimulate new blood vessel formation.
Mesenchymal stem cells are a kind of pluripotent stem cells with a wide range of sources, self-replication, and multi-directional differentiation. They can play a role in assisting hematopoiesis, regulating immunity, and nutritional support, and are also widely used in the research of neurodegenerative diseases.
Given the rich vascular connections between facial tissue, the nasal cavity and the brain, the researchers believe this may be an ideal injection site for stem cell therapy for Parkinson's disease.
The first patient, a 72-year-old man, presented with hand tremors and progressive stiffness in his neck, shoulders, and legs that interfered with his ability to walk and drive. Despite receiving treatments such as levodopa, his condition deteriorated and he eventually opted for stem cell therapy.
Two weeks after the cells were injected, patients reported improvement in symptoms, which peaked at about four to six months after treatment and continued for five years of follow-up.
Movement-related symptoms include improvement in sitting, walking, standing, stooping, speaking, writing, tool use, and facial expression. Non-motor symptoms include dry skin, runny nose, improvement in sexual function, libido, and fatigue.
After 5 years of follow-up, the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) subjective total score dropped from 70 to 49 (lower scores reflect better quality of life). The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) score, which assesses motor and non-motor symptoms, also dropped from 20 to 4 (lower scores indicate less disability). At the same time, the levodopa equivalent daily dose (the sum of levodopa-related therapies) taken by patients was also significantly reduced.
The second patient was a 50-year-old woman. One year after the stem cell injection, she reported subjective improvements in her ability to sit, turn from bed, and enhanced fine motor skills, facial movements, and better sleep, as well as a reduction in tremors in her right foot.
Her PDQ-39 subjective score dropped from 74 to 19, her UPDRS score dropped from 18 to 3, and her levodopa-equivalent daily dose was significantly reduced.
This study suggests that the treatment of Parkinson's disease by facial injection of SVF warrants further investigation.
CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.