Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9899
ISSN: 2155-9899
Timothy J Collier
Tanzania
Commentary
Repairing the Aged Parkinsonian Striatum: Lessons from the Lab and Clinic
Author(s): Natosha M Mercado, Timothy J Collier, Thomas Freeman and Kathy Steece-Collier
Natosha M Mercado, Timothy J Collier, Thomas Freeman and Kathy Steece-Collier
The primary risk factor associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) is advanced age. While there are symptomatic therapies for PD, efficacy of these eventually wane and/or side-effects develop over time. An alternative experimental therapy that has received a great deal of attention over the past several decades has been neural transplantation aimed at replacing nigral dopamine (DA) neurons that degenerate in PD. However, in PD patients and parkinsonian rats, advanced age is associated with inferior benefit following intrastriatal grafting of embryonic DA neurons. Traditionally it has been thought that decreased therapeutic benefit results from the decreased survival of grafted DA neurons and the accompanying poor reinnervation observed in the aged host. However, recent clinical and preclinical data suggest that factors inherent to the aged striatum per se limit successful brain repa.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2155-9899.1000476