Individualized brain cell grafts reverse Parkinson’s symptoms in monkeys

Grafting neurons grown from monkeys’ own cells into their brains relieved the debilitating movement and depression symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison reported today. In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine the UW team describes its success with neurons made from cells from the monkeys’ own bodies after reprogramming to induced pluripotent stem cells. UW–Madison neuroscientist Su-Chun Zhang, whose Waisman Center lab grew the brain cells, said this approach avoided complications with the primates’ immune systems and takes an important step toward a treatment for millions of human Parkinson’s patients. Learn more about their work here.

Read the full article at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01257-1