title: A multiple target neural transplantation strategy for Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Intracerebral transplantation of embryonic ventral mesencephalic tissue is a potential treatment for patients with Parkinson's disease for whom medical management is unsatisfactory. Neural transplantation for parkinsonism has been studied experimentally in animal models of Parkinson's disease for more than two decades. These animal studies have shown significant graft survival, synapse formation, graft induced-dopamine release, and behavioural recovery in transplanted animals. Encouraged by these results, clinical programs have been initiated over the past 15 years; more than 250 patients worldwide have undergone neural transplantation. Both animal and clinical studies indicate that neural transplantation has the potential to become a valuable treatment option for Parkinson's disease. However, while many transplant recipients obtain clinically useful symptom relief, in all cases functional recovery is incomplete. Certain symptoms do not respond well to transplant therapy, and those symptoms that do typically do not resolve completely. This has spurred efforts to optimize the transplant procedure. One important approach is exploring novel methods such as multiple site transplantation. This transplantation strategy results in a more complete reinnervation of the dopaminergic circuitry that is affected in Parkinson's disease. In principle, multiple site transplantation should provide a more satisfactory resolution of symptoms. Here we review the progress made in multiple site neural transplantation for Parkinson's disease. The effects of intrastriatal, intranigral, intrasubthalamic nucleus, and intrapallidal grafts in animal models of Parkinson's disease are analysed. The current data suggest that intrastriatal grafts alone are inadequate to promote complete functional recovery. A multiple target strategy may restore dopaminergic input to affected basal ganglia nuclei and improve outcomes of neural transplantation in Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Division of Neurosurgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: Arun Chander
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.forename: Lynsey Erin
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bartlett
authors.forename: Ivar Marcelo
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Mendez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016380:Brain Tissue Transplantation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D016332:Fetal Tissue Transplantation; D005917:Globus Pallidus / Q000637:transplantation; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000637:transplantation; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000637:transplantation*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013378:Substantia Nigra
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine