National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) have teamed-up for a study on animal models of Parkinson's Disease (PD).
The study is a continuation of a student's PhD thesis that focused on the generation of dopamine cell lines for PD. Since the student stopped the research half way, NIMHANS and NCBS intend to take it forward to look at the possibility of a treatment option for PD.
"We are looking at the development of neuro-regenerative therapies with stem cells. The endogenous neural stem cells of the adult brain provide an alternative cell source for neuro-regeneration. Prior to designing endogenous stem cell therapies, the possible impact of PD on adult neuronal stem cell pools and their neurogenic potential needs to be investigated. Therefore, we are doing a behavioral study in animals to see the effect of stem cells in PD, Dr Uday Muthane, Additional Professor Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences told Pharmabiz. "This is a preliminary study but we hope it could have immense potential," he added.
The study came about after an informal discussion with NCBS. "We have exchanged a few animal models and are still looking at the various possibilities to pursue the study. NIMHANS has the Parkinson's Disease treatment expertise and NCBS has the Neurobiology cell research capability", stated Prof Mitradas Panicker, scientist, Neurobiology Group, NCBS.
Right now, Parkinson is treated with Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)which is an expensive proposition amounting to Rs 5.5 lakh. The 24 hour preparation which includes planning and execution of the procedure is a challenge for neuro surgeons. The key issue in DBS is to select the right patient for the procedure, stated Dr Muthane.
The study will look to replace fetal cells with stem cells. The former proved to have low graft survival rates during a two double blinded, randomized, controlled trials held two years ago in the US where transplantation did not prove beneficial, stated Dr Muthane.
Prevalence of Parkinson's disease which is a neuro-degenerative disorder globally is high among the Causicans population which is 200 per 100,000. In India, incidence among Parsee community is 317 per 100,000 and general population is 45 per 100,000.
Present treatment options are mainly symptomatic and meant to increase the dopamine levels in the degenerating Nigrostriatal system which is a neural pathway of the brain. Early studies of experimental therapies based on transplanting exogenous dopamine-rich fetal cells into the brain of Parkinson disease patients provided a platform for future cell- and gene-based strategies. The endogenous neural stem cells of the adult brain provide an alternative cell source for neuro-regeneration. "We need to review the experimental data obtained in animal models or based on analysis of patients' brains prior to deciding different treatment strategies," added Dr Muthane who is treating PD and movement disorders patients like Huntington Disease and Dystonia. For PD, there are over 150 drugs in the pipeline.