Transplantation: Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease Essay -- Health Medi

Transplantation Treatment of Parkinsons DiseaseParkinsons disease (PD) is a slowly-progressive disease which last robs its victims of voluntary motor control. The disease manifests itself as a series of symptoms which include bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, and impairment of postural reflexes (Fitzgerald, 1992215). It is a result of a passage of neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). Chemotherapy, in the form of drugs such as levodopa and carbidopa, has been effective in alleviating many of the symptoms in the early stages of PD however, with increasing losses in the number of cells in SNpc, such therapy becomes more and more ineffective. New therapies, using selegiline (deprenyl) and antioxidants (tocopherol or Vitamin E) focus on halting the progression of the disease by potentially salvaging surviving SNpc cells (Ahlskog, 1990). A more aggressive approach in the treatment of PD has surfaced in recent years. Researchers are experimenting with the prospects of tran splanting tissue directly into the afflicted areas of the central queasy system (CNS) of PD patients. In both animal models of PD and humans, marginally successful transplants have been performed using adrenal chromaffin cells and fetal neurons. Genetically-altered, dopamine-producing tissues are currently existence proposed as an alternative in transplant therapy of PD. As techniques become more refined, such brain-grafting may be the panacea for not only PD, but in any case for other debilitating diseases such as Huntingtons disease and Alzheimers disease. According to Fitzgerald (1992215), the cardinal pathological feature of PD is loss of neurons from the substantia nigra. Most of this loss occurs in the SNpc, of which approxima... ...zgerald, M. J. T. Neuroanatomy Basic and Clinical. London Bailliere Tindall, 1992. Freed, C. R. et.al. 1992. Improved drug responsiveness following fetal tissue implant for Parkinsons disease. Neurochemistry International, 20 321S-327S. Freed, C. R. et.al. 1990. Transplantation of human fetal dopamine cells for Parkinsons disease. Fetal Human Transplant, 47505-12. Freed, W. J. et.al. 1991. Brain grafts and Parkinsons disease. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 45261-7. Hurtig, H. et.al. 1989. Postmortem analysis of adrenal-medulla-to caudate autograft in a patient with Parkinsons disease. Annals of Neurology, 25(6)607-13. Kordower, J. H. et.al. 1991. Putative chromaffin cell survival and enhanced host-derived TH-fiber innervation following a functional adrenal medulla autograft for Parkinsons disease. Annals of Neurology, 29(4)405-12.